UNCOMFORTABLE COLEMAN. Yesterday the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Minnesota's Republican senator, Norm Coleman, has decided to support now-retiring Republican Sen. John Warner's plan for troops to begin coming home by the end of the year. Coleman is a Republican in a seat some Democrats consider winnable, considering he won Paul Wellstone's seat five years ago (after switching from the DFL party) and Coleman has made a point of being a diehard supporter of Bush's policies. This means Colman's probably more than a little worried about his seat next fall, even though polling shows he's ahead. If Coleman convinces Minnesotans he's moderate enough, he may squeak by, but his approval ratings have been dropping slowly over the last few months. --Kay Steiger
