Continued: Senate candidates spar in second debate

The U.S. Senate race in Minnesota zig-zagged between somber and emotional on Saturday, with the three major candidates saying there were no easy solutions to the economic mess that has dominated headlines and Sen. Norm Coleman trying to deflect charges that Congress and the White House played a large role in creating the problem.

"People are outraged. They're confused and frightened," said DFL challenger Al Franken, who added that he felt Congress "rushed into" the $700 billion bailout package it recently passed. "We have to hope it works."

A nervous nation has watched as the Bush administration "was running around like a chicken with its head cut off," Franken said.

Coleman, who sat flanked by Franken and the Independence Party's Dean Barkley, took criticism from both challengers and at one point reminded them it was easy to cast stones "from the cheap seats."

With the debate coming a day after Coleman announced he was dropping his negative advertising, the senator reminded his opponents that it would be difficult to "generate hope" by being negative.

But Barkley, who joked that he faced criticism from his opponents for the first time Saturday, took aim at Coleman and pointedly told him that "this whole economic collapse, it was on your watch." Barkley added, "I'm going to pin you on that one."

The debate, held at Breck School in Golden Valley and sponsored by nonpartisan Debate Minnesota took place against a backdrop that at times resembled a sporting event, with both sides cheering the candidates before they appeared on stage. When the candidates came out, Coleman was greeted with chants of "USA! USA!" while one man yelled out to Franken, "We love you, Al."

Scores of supporters lined the route to the high school with signs.

The three candidates dipped deep into a pool of issues ranging from how to deal with Iran -- Franken said all options must remain on the table -- to fixing the Social Security system. Coleman said the push for energy independence was a key to many of the country's ills, though his opponents said the senator only became concerned with the topic when gas approached $4 a gallon.

"You want to slow down Iran? Let's get energy independent," Coleman said.

Franken and Coleman also sparred again over the Iraq war, with Franken saying Coleman still would not acknowledge that the war was a mistake, and Coleman accusing Franken of mischaracterizing his position.

"Let's not give up on the success that we've made," Coleman said. "We want to get out as quickly as possible without losing the gains that we've made."

Replied Franken: "How you [can] still say that this war was the right thing to do is beyond me."

In one moment of levity, the candidates were asked about their favorite books and movies, with Barkley saying his favorite movie was "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," the 1939 classic of a wide-eyed Jimmy Stewart who suddenly finds himself as a U.S. senator.

Saturday's debate came as the candidates, with 23 days now remaining until the election, ended another roller coaster week that included more polls showing Franken either drawing even or edging ahead. The week also included another noticeable change -- TV ads from both sides that took a less accusatory and more personal approach after weeks of in-your-face attacks.

At a news conference Friday, Coleman said he made the decision to pull his negative ads after taking a day off from campaigning to observe Yom Kippur, which he said was a time for "fasting, soul-searching and refocusing on your life."

A spokesman for Franken's campaign called the announcement "a cynical ploy."

John Swanson, a Coleman supporter at the debate, said he hoped the decision to stop negative advertising works. Coleman "certainly needs to point out the differences between them," he said. "I think most of his ads have been positive."

Guy Collins, another Coleman supporter from Plymouth, downplayed the decision. "I think people, at this point, know what Al Franken is."

Minnesota Poll

In a Minnesota Poll released a week ago, a significant percentage of likely voters found the ads to be unfair, with a higher percentage saying that Coleman's ads attacking Franken were mostly personal attacks.

The poll also gave Franken, a former comedian and writer for "Saturday Night Live," his first substantial lead, a 43-to-34 percent margin.

In one new ad released after that poll, Coleman's daughter is featured in an attempt to recall a similar ad she did six years ago for her father's first Senate campaign. In the initial ad, Sarah Coleman said of her dad, "He's got a really good heart."

"Six years ago, I did that commercial," his daughter said in the new ad. "Since then, I've changed, but Dad hasn't."

Coleman was also dogged during the week by another accusation that attempted to cast him as beholden to wealthy benefactors -- much like an earlier report accused him of paying a discount rate to rent a Washington apartment owned by an influential GOP supporter.

Harper's magazine, citing unnamed sources, reported that a wealthy investment executive and Coleman campaign contributor Nasser Kazeminy paid for suits bought by Coleman at Nieman Marcus. The senator and his campaign, while repeatedly declining to discuss the allegation in detail, maintained that all gifts from friends had been properly reported and followed Senate rules.

On Friday, Coleman addressed the issue directly, saying that "nobody but me and my wife buy my suits."

The debate came six days after Coleman, Franken and Barkley faced off in a sometimes pointed debate last Sunday in Rochester. Barkley served briefly in the U.S. Senate after Sen. Paul Wellstone died in a 2002 plane crash. Though he remains a long shot, he appears poised to be a spoiler in the race.

"This election isn't about who buys Norm Coleman's suits or who does Al Franken's taxes," Barkley said.

Mike Kaszuba • 673-4388