THIS POST on Paul Wellstone’s death yesterday drew the following email:

Glenn– Your decision not to discuss the political impact of Senator Wellstone’s untimely death is just a little too slick, too “correct,” and well, a wee bit pompous. Everyone out here knows you’ve thought about the political ramifications of the senator’s death, just the same as we have. Unless you knew the Senator personally, I truly doubt you are in shock or mourning the loss. So why act that way?

Well, the truth is, I just didn’t feel like writing about who was going to take the Minnesota Senate seat after hearing that. I disagreed with Wellstone on some things, but watching them rerun some of his 1990 commercials reminded me why I liked him. He had a sense of humor, he didn’t take himself, or politics, too seriously, and, by all appearances and accounts, he wasn’t a dick.

And while the outcome of the Senate elections is important, I’m kind of tired of seeing it presented like it’s the only important thing in the world, and of seeing people so desperate to win that they’ll say anything. In the words of Chrissie Hynde: “What’s important in this life? Ask the man who’s lost his wife.” Or read this.