THE EARMARK

Well technically it would be a “guest bedroom surfer” now that Franken and his buddies are old and rich.

In Washington for a two-day crash course on Senate procedures, the would-be lawmaker found himself without a place to stay. Although his good friend Eliot Spitzer suggested the Mayflower Hotel, Franken instead opted to crash with a friend…

One who just so happens to be a big shot with the right-wing American Enterprise Institute…

Senate candidate Al Franken (D-Minn.) stayed with American Enterprise Institute’s resident scholar Norm Ornstein last week for two nights as “Franken immersed himself in the Senate,” Ornstein told [Capitol HIll's "The Hill" newspaper] Tuesday.

According to its website, the American Enterprise Institute is dedicated to “limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and responsibility, vigilant and effective defense and foreign policies, political accountability, and open debate.” Check back next week to see if “urging Norm Coleman to accept reality” has been added to the group’s charter. That would mean Franken’s visit went very well.

You can also check to see if Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations has joined the impressive roster at AEI Press. We think it would look great on the shelf next to another AEI chestnut: Slouching Toward Gommorah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline by Robert Bork.