Wednesday was a rough day for U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman in the three-ring circus of his re-election effort, but things could have been worse.

Coleman announced that he intends to attempt a risky use of campaign funds to pay high-priced attorneys and investigators to defend against charges that could result from an FBI investigation into $75,000 that his benefactor, businessman Nasser Kazeminy, is alleged to have funneled to Coleman via his wife’s employer. At least Coleman’s campaign has leftover cash after the most expensive contest in state history.

Coleman attorney Roger Magnuson’s ominous references to the 2000 presidential recount debacle in Florida so annoyed state Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson that Anderson cut Magnuson off, saying, “This is not Florida.” At least Magnuson didn’t let Anderson go on and on about Florida while the sitting justices silently seethed.

At 11:41 a.m. yesterday, a Coleman attorney was observed surfing the J. Crew Web site during the second day of the State Canvassing Board’s review of ballots that rival Al Franken challenged in Minnesota’s statewide Senate recount. At least it wasn’t the Neiman Marcus Web site.