Al Franken Begins Hiring Senate Staff

He still hasn't been certified as Senator from Minnesota, but Democrat Al Franken-- perhaps taking encouragement from his alter ego, Stuart Smalley-- has decided to proceed with senatorial duties.

And while this doesn't mean he's already taking bribes or engaging in sex scandals, he has engaged in a senator's more basic responsibilities, such as hiring a staff...

On the heels of winning his Senate recount trial last week, Minnesota Democrat Al Franken (D) made his first staffing announcement on Monday, naming a long-time staffer to Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) as his state director.

A three-judge panel ruled last week that Franken defeated incumbent Norm Coleman (R) in the 2008 recount - a verdict that the former GOP Senator plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court this week. Although Franken has yet to be certified the winner of the race, his decision to bring on Alana Petersen as state director sends a signal that the Democrat is moving forward.

Although Franken has won every stage of the six-month old election contest with Republican Norm Coleman, he still does not have the certification of Minnesota's Governor Tim Pawlenty, which is required before Franken can proceed to the Senate.

Pawlenty, a Republican, has vowed not to certify Franken until Coleman exercises all available legal options (read: the Supreme Court awards him the seat in a decision written by Antonin Scalia.) This raises the possibility that Franken is hiring his staff in vain, but at the current pace of things, we won't know for sure until late fall.

And while Franken busies himself with staffing decisions, Coleman stays occupied by working for the Republican Jewish Coalition, which we assume is just a conference call between Coleman, David Horowitz and William Kristol.