Big doin's in Minnesota's 1st CD

Some big names will be stumping for Tim Walz and Amy Klobuchar in the 1st Congressional District this coming week.

Barak Obama will be stopping at the Mayo Civic Center Auditorium in Rochester on Monday, Oct. 30, with the event starting at 5:00 pm.

Then on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at noon, Walz will host Sen. John Kerry at Bresnan Arena on the campus of Minnesota State University in Mankato.

What's in a number?

As has been well publicized, Laura Bush came to the Mayo Civic Center this past Wednesday to lend a hand to incumbent Rep. Gil Gutknecht. According to GOP sources, the crowd was as high as a thousand, with the Albert Lea Tribune estimating 700 and the Associated Press saying "several hundred." But apparently a Fox News reporter on the scene said the number was less than 300.

Tacked onto the end of the Pioneer Press article about Laura Bush's $500-a-plate breakfast for Michele Bachmann that morning is this little ditty:

Republicans arriving early for Bush's speech at the Minneapolis Marriott Southwest hotel encountered about a dozen anti-war demonstrators from a group called Military Families Speak Out.

One of the protesters — Rick Hanson, a free-lance illustrator from Minnetonka — wore a photo of his son, Eric, a recently discharged Marine who served eight months in Iraq.

"We're here today specifically because the Republican administration is inside comfortable and warm, having a $500 breakfast … and four kids will be dead by the end of the day," Hanson said. "It's shameful."

Let's hope those Republicans got more than just an Egg McMuffin for their 500 smackers....