The immediate concern is that this poll is an outlier. The DFL candidate has been moribund lately, both taking hits from multiple sources and just not showing much electoral life generally. His recent failure to gain against Coleman has led to murmurs of doubt that he can beat Coleman -- notably from Priscilla Lord Faris, who plans to take Franken on herself. However well-respected a poll is, it's just one poll.

But let's talk about poll accuracy. Besides his upward shift in the numbers from one month ago, Franken backers must be heartened by the poll's source. Rasmussen polls are widely considered one of the nation's most accurate sources of polling data. By the way, the Rasmussen man-in-charge is a Republican, so no liberal bias here either.

Another wild card to consider is the effect of the Jesse rumors:

Franken’s support has stayed between 43% and 45% in four straight polls. The current poll is by far the lowest level of support earned by the incumbent, suggesting that the rumblings of a possible Ventura campaign raised new possibilities for voters to consider. However, on Monday night, Ventura announced that he will not enter the campaign.

Momentum can be a factor in political campaigns. Can Franken use these new numbers to gain traction, or is this just another blip on the radar screen?