Gail Collins weighs in on Minnesota’s contentious senate race in The New York Times today. The columnist finds sweet relief in the unsettled contest for political junkies uncertain how to occupy their time now that hitting refresh on the Real Clear Politics “latest polls” page is no longer a productive option. Unfortunately Collins also repeats a couple of myths about joy-riding ballots and accusations of communism. But it’s an entertaining read:

As time passed, many voters in Minnesota decided that there are things worse than a history of making offensive jokes, one of them being a history of supporting George W. Bush. Coleman’s lead began shrinking. Both parties started pouring money into Minnesota. Both candidates cannily invested in negative ads, which were extremely effective in getting people to vote for Dean Barkley.

My personal favorite was a Coleman spot that had Hollywood celebrities saying they were embarrassed to be in the same business as Al Franken. It was far from the meanest. But it is really not all that often that you get the opportunity to see Stephen Baldwin, Pat Boone and the guy who played the mailman on “Cheers” all in one place. “We don’t all write dirty articles for Playboy!” yells Victoria Jackson, a “Saturday Night Live” alumna whose personal Web site announces: “I hope that America realizes that Obama is a communist before it’s too late.”