Franken-Lies-And-the-Lying-Liars-Who-Tell

American Indians did some tribal drumming. A soul band called Sounds of Blackness played
"Love Train" as dignitaries filed in. When the crowd saw Clinton on the Jumbotron, they
went nuts. Same for Hillary, for Gore, and for Mondale, who was replacing Wellstone on the
ballot. When Trent Lott's face appeared on the screen, a few people booed. It seemed like
good-natured ribbing to me. Lott broke out in a grin and waved.
The event lasted three and a half hours. It opened with an ecumenical prayer led by
the rabbi from the synagogue I went to as a child. Standing with the rabbi were dozens of
clergy representing every religious tradition in the state. The first eulogy was delivered by a
brother of Wellstone's driver, Will McLaughlin, and was one of the most beautiful I've ever
heard. There were no celebrity speakers, even though many had offered. It was family,
friends, and colleagues, who each gave moving testimony to the lives of those who died.
One of the eight eulogies that night, given by Wellstone's best friend Rick Kahn,
ended with a political call to arms that went over the top. The first part of the speech, though,
was dead-on. Kahn described how Wellstone had always said that it's not enough to believe
in something if you don't act on it. Kahn exhorted the crowd to act on Wellstone's memory by
"standing up for those who lack the strength to stand up on their own." Everyone stood up,
which I thought was a very Minnesotan way to react. (We're very literal.) We cheered, too.
With tremendous emotion. There was cheering and crying and stomping and applause all
throughout the speech, even after Kahn's train left the rails.
The trouble began when Kahn put maybe too fine a point on what the crowd had to do
to keep Paul's legacy alive. "We can redeem the promise of his life if you help us win this
election for Paul Wellstone!" Huge cheers. He repeated variations of this several times, and
the crowd stayed right with him. I could see how someone watching on TV might find this
blatantly political battle cry just a bit too partisan for a memorial service.
Then Kahn named a number of Republicans in the audience: "Senator Domenici,
Senator Brownback, Senator Lugar, Senator Hagel, and Senator DeWine, who are here tonight,
are all Republicans for whom Paul had the utmost respect and whom he considered to
be true friends." Cheers. Prolonged, warm, appreciative applause, as the crowd embraced the
Republicans who had come to pay their respects. It seemed to me like things were back on
track.
But it turned out that Kahn was going someplace I had never heard anyone go before.
He said to the Republicans, "Can you not hear your friend calling you one last time to step