Coleman put his foot in his mouth, but Romney still has millions of good reasons to keep him around.

​Remember Norm Coleman? Seems like it's been a while since we've seen his name in the news.

Turns out, he's still quietly working as a "special adviser" to Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Well, quietly until last weekend, when he opened his mouth and said something Romney probably wishes he hadn't.

During an appearance on a public affairs TV program (video below the jump), Coleman said President Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act won't be repealed in its entirety -- something Romney has promised to do if he's elected president.

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Norm Coleman, Mitt Romney: In total, these two are 50 percent Jewish.

​Mitt Romney's campaign complained a while back that conservative Jewish voters were supporting Michele Bachmann out of confusion, thinking that Minnesota's most outspoken Evangelical Christian was Jewish herself.

So Romney's campaign found the perfect solution: hire Norm Coleman, an actual Jewish person who sort of used to be from Minnesota sometimes. Coleman's on the board of directors at the Republican Jewish Coalition, and Romney's probably hoping that'll boost him some among temple-going donors and voters.

There's also a good financial reason to hire Coleman -- or, more to the point, there are 26 million financial reasons to hire him. Since losing his airtight election recount to Al Franken in 2009, Coleman has worked the highly lucrative shadows of modern political fundraising and spending.
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Norm Coleman, hippie freak.

​Former Sen. Norm Coleman found gainful employment a few weeks ago, signing on with one of those power-wielding Washington, D.C., law firms that most folks have never heard of.

He won't actually ply the legal trade with Hogan Lovells as a senior government adviser, he'll exercise raw power in that gray area where "business and government intersect."

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Will Norm Coleman save the GOP from the insidious influence of Wisconsin?

​Norm Coleman, who has been doing his will-he-won't-he dance for months now, appears to be one step closer to running for Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Today an anonymous "close source" told the press that Coleman is likely to run. The former Minnesota senator had initially said he wouldn't seek the position, out of deference to the current RNC Chair, Michael Steele.

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The least aggressive campaign you've seen.

​Norm Coleman is seriously bringing the Minnesota Nice to backroom Washington politics.

Last summer, his name mysteriously started getting batted around as a possible replacement to the beleaguered Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steel.

But Coleman's fingerprints were nowhere to be found on that rumor, and when he was asked about it, he politely demurred.More >>

Could Norm Coleman stick his foot in his mouth as many times as Michael Steele? That's a big challenge.

​By now you've heard that former Sen. Norm Coleman is feeling out a challenge to GOP chairman Michael Steele. But Norm has big shoes to fill--Steele has spouted a fountain of gaffes during his tenure.

In February 2009, Steele told the Washington Times that the GOP needed to get its message out to "urban-suburban hip-hop settings," and that the party needed to "uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets."

Later that month on an interview with ABC Radio, Steele called Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal "friggin' awesome" and offered him some "slum love."

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​If you needed another reason to support Gov. Tim Pawlenty's obvious run for president in 2012, former Sen. Norm Coleman just gave you an excellent one. It would save Coleman's health!

Ah yes, just the reason we needed. Coleman says he wouldn't be rail thin if Pawlenty ran things because he trusts Pawlenty on the issue of Israel. And since Coleman's weight is one of our top concerns, we now love Pawlenty.

If only we could make such claims for our favorite politicians! Starve until your candidate wins, folks.

Coleman made the comment this morning in Washington, D.C. while introducing Pawlenty to a group of Republican Jews at an AIPAC breakfast.

Here is the quote:

People ask me why I'm thin. It's because I worry a lot. But if Pawlenty was in charge, I'd never lose a night of sleep on the issue of Israel.

​Former Sen. Norm Coleman used his Facebook page last night to say he has no intention of running for Minnesota governor in 2010, citing bad timing, commitments to his family and a desire to change the nation's paralyzing partisanship without holding public office.

Coleman, who lost his Senate seat last year in a bitter recount battle with DFLer Al Franken, has loomed large in the governor's race, even though he never announced his candidacy. Last week a Rasmussen poll showed him drubbing all other GOP contenders for the office, with 52 percent support. The nearest competitor, Marty Seifert, had 9 percent.

Here's the full text of Coleman's statement:

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​Rasmussen Reports is out with a new poll that says former Sen. Norm Coleman leads among Republicans in the race to replace retiring Gov. Tim Pawlenty, even though Coleman isn't even officially running -- yet. Meanwhile, another former Senator, Mark Dayton, now leads the Democratic field.

The breakdown among Republicans:

• Norm Coleman: 52 percent


• Marty Seifert: 9 percent


• Tom Emmer: 9 percent


• Pat Anderson: 5 percent


• Other: 7 percent


• Not Sure: 18 percent

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​Prompted by Al Franken's squeeky-tight recount victory over Norm Coleman in last year's U.S. Senate race, KSTP-TV requested access to all of Ramsey County's rejected and unopened absentee ballots. The county refused the request, the station took the county to court, and on Tuesday it found a friend in Judge Dale Lindman.

Lindman ruled that the ballots are a matter of public record, and said KSTP can have access to them.

Does that mean the election results could be in dispute again? Some of the rejected ballots remain unopened, and what they reveal is anyone's guess at this point. But the news is part and parcel of a seemingly never-ending battle over the disputed legitimacy of Franken's victory.

MinnPost has a copy of the ruling here.