Coleman (far right) says he has no interest in returning to the campaign trail anytime soon.

Earlier this year, Minnesota Republicans said they wanted to see Norm Coleman challenge Gov. Mark Dayton in 2014. They won't get their wish.

SEE ALSO:
-- Norm Coleman on Michelle Obama's Oscars appearance: Obamas "owe Hollywood so much"
-- Norm Coleman's "shadowy" American Action Network under fire for flouting law

Last night, Coleman took to Twitter to rule out a run against Dayton. He also reiterated something he first said in January -- he has no interest in a rematch with Al Franken.

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Image by Tatiana Craine

Coleman thinks Michelle's Oscars appearance was some sort of quid pro quo for Hollywood's efforts to elect her husband.

Norm Coleman has had some surprisingly nice things to say about President Obama lately, but he's still a Republican, and he couldn't resist the urge to take a shot at the first lady during an appearance yesterday on Wolf Blitzer's CNN show.

SEE ALSO: Michele Bachmann's "tar baby" Obama blast "has nothing to do with race"

Asked what he thought about Michelle Obama's live-via-satellite presentation of the Academy Awards' best picture award, Coleman said: "The fact is that the president and the first lady owed Hollywood so much, Wolf, so much. For her to go on, I'm sure that everyone was very very happy."

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MNGOPers want to see these former U.S. Senators duke it out in 2014.

With a 53 percent approval rating, Mark Dayton looks like he'll be tough to beat in 2014. But as of right now, polling indicates Norm Coleman has the inside track to become the Republican who gets a shot to knock him off.

SEE ALSO: Minnesota Republicans want Michele Bachmann vs. Al Franken in 2014

The latest Public Policy Polling survey indicates Coleman is the preferred 2014 gubernatorial candidate for 57 percent of Minnesota Republicans, which makes him far and away the most popular choice. None of the other possible MNGOP candidates PPP included in the survey -- Keith "I See Dead People" Downey, David "Conflict of Interest" Hann, Jeff Johnson, Julie Rosen, Marty Seifert, and Kurt Zellers -- crack the 5 percent mark.

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Coleman doesn't see himself ending up in this position again anytime soon.

Norm Coleman may be the most popular Republican in Minnesota, but he apparently doesn't think he's popular enough to take down Al Franken.

SEE ALSO: Norm Coleman praises Obama gun control speech that didn't use the word "guns"

It looks like those hoping for a rematch of the ridiculously close and controversial 2008 matchup for Minnesota's junior U.S. Senate seat are in for a disappointment, as Coleman told the National Journal he no interest in running again.

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After his speech last night, Coleman characterized Obama as "a superb healing force in wake of the Newtown tragedy."

Last night, President Obama traveled to Newtown, Connecticut, and gave a speech at a memorial service for the victims of Friday's school shooting.

SEE ALSO:
-- Al Franken didn't want to talk gun control on Friday; Betty McCollum did
-- Andy Parrish's response to Newtown school shooting: Arm teachers

His remarks received praise from both both liberals and conservatives, but some have dinged the president for not actually using the word "guns" in the course of making his strongest pro-gun-control statement yet.

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Norm is apparently tasked with reaching out to liberal Republicans and deceiving them about Romney's real priorities.

During a meeting with the Republican Jewish Coalition yesterday in Beechwood, Ohio, former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman -- now working as an adviser to the Romney campaign -- was asked about abortion rights.

SEE ALSO:
-- Norm Coleman's "shadowy" American Action Network under fire for flouting law
-- GOP Reps. Erik Paulsen and John Kline taking heat for supporting "forcible rape" language

Here's what he said: "President Bush was president eight years, Roe v. Wade wasn't reversed. He had two Supreme Court picks, Roe v. Wade wasn't reversed. It's not going to be reversed." Compare those remarks with Romney's website, which says Mitt "believes that the next right step is for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade."

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After Burton (left) compared Ryan to Goebbels, the Romney ticket turned to Coleman for a response.

SEE ALSO:
-- Norm Coleman's "shadowy" American Action Network under fire for flouting law
-- Norm Coleman most popular prominent MN GOPer; Bachmann "most unpopular politician"
-- Norm Coleman: Obamacare won't be repealed, despite what Romney says

Former Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman spoke on behalf of aggrieved Republicans everywhere after John Burton, chair of the California Democratic Party, compared Paul Ryan's RNC lying to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.

"They lie and they don't care if people think they lie... Joseph Goebbels -- it's the big lie, you keep repeating it," Burton told the SFGate during a DNC breakfast event yesterday.


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Coleman's "advocacy organization" is taking heat for flouting campaign finance and tax laws.

Norm Coleman may be Minnesota's most popular prominent Republican, but he isn't feeling any love these days from nonprofit campaign watchdog groups in Washington.

Both Democracy 21 and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have recently called for the IRS and FEC to investigate whether Coleman's American Action Network conservative advocacy organization is operating in violation of campaign finance and tax laws.

AAN is a tax-exempt organization. According to CREW, as such, it is supposed to spend less than $1,000 annually on expenditures aimed at electing federal candidates. While it's arguable what sorts of expenditures constitute the type of candidate-specific contributions in question, tax returns show that AAN spent more than $25 million on "advocacy, organizing and political activity" from July 2010 to June 2011, including a $500,000 donation to American Crossroads, a super PAC linked to former Bush Administration power broker Karl Rove.

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The face of Minnesota's most popular prominent Republican.

The Republicans we like the best are the ones we see and hear from the least, apparently.

New polling released yesterday by Public Policy Polling reveals that "the most prominent Minnesota Republican with the best favorability numbers" is former Senator Norm Coleman, who we've barely heard from during the last three years. To give you an idea of how unpopular our prominent Republicans are, consider that Coleman's favorable/unfavorable split is a less than inspiring 38/41.

On the other side of the spectrum sits Our Favorite Congresswoman, Michele Bachmann. With a 33/60 favorable/unfavorable split, PPP characterizes Michele as "Minnesota's most unpopular politician." We'll see what the voters of the 6th District have to say about Bachmann's popularity come November.

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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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