A note from the chef: When I put up the post below earlier today, I was unaware that Mike McFadden had put up an issue section on his campaign website. I just found it out and will write about it soon. But to the degree that this post implies that McFadden still hasn’t taken policy positions, I assume he has made substantial progress on that score. EB.

Jennifer Rubin, the Washington Post’s righty op-ed writer, makes the case this morning that Mike McFadden could put the Al Franken U.S. Senate seat into play. Like everyone else, she doesn’t know McFadden’s position on any issues, but seems unbothered by the blank slate. From her calory-free analysis:

McFadden “can position himself as a Washington outsider.” McFadden “is believed to have the funds to partially self-fund his campaign.” McFadden “is the favorite of establishment Republicans.” McFadden’s “campaign adviser, Todd Harris, insists that McFadden is a real threat” to Franken. McFadden is “extolling ‘earned success’ … and limited but effective government.”

Rubin also passes along two or three of the Republicans’ favorite attack points on Franken.

This is embarrassing for someone with a perch at one of the nation’s major newspapers. I know that horseracism is almost everything but Rubin should at least pretend to care about a policy matter or two.

Rubin didn’t have the benefit of the latest news from the McFadden campaign, but this morning the candidate released the fourth in his “Minute with Mike” series of videos introducing himself to the Minnesota electorate. It’s titled “Freedom” and McFadden says it’s a Republican idea and he’s for it.

Some quotes from the new video:

“Freedom is our word. It’s an American word. It’s a Republican word… We are risk-takers. I mean you think about it, we’re a nation of immigrants… Health care. We have to do things better. No, not by nationalizing one-sixth of the economy but to do it better here in the state of Minnesota… So freedom is the ability to take risks. And with risks comes failure. We will have failure. But without failure, you don’t have success.”

I can’t seem to embed the video at the moment, but this link should get it for you.