"The legal fight between Al Franken and Norm Coleman is headed to the desk of Gov. Tim Pawlenty -- a no-win predicament for a Minnesota Republican with his eye on a White House run in 2012," Politico reports.
If Franken's ahead after counting the final 400 absentee ballots, Pawlenty "will have a choice: sign the election certificate that will allow Democrats to seat Franken in the Senate or play to the Republicans whose support he'd need in 2012 by withholding the certificate while Coleman challenges the election in the federal court system."
Complicating Pawlenty's task is the Minneapolis Star Tribune observation that few "see any chance of Coleman throwing in the towel." He's promise to run his appeal through the federal courts.