At least Wellstone's campaign manager apologized for hijacking the memorial service for political gains.

But tell me, do you really believe his assertion that:

"It was not our intent to inject that into the service," campaign chairman Jeff Blodgett said of comments made at the Tuesday night ceremony. "I take responsibility for that and I deeply regret it."

Apparently, some local TV stations have complained that they were tricked into broadcasting (for free) a partisan political rally.

"That was never the intention," Blodgett said.

Yeah, right. Just imagine if the same thing had happened at the funeral of a far-right member of congress. Suppose a similar thing had happened at the funeral of, say, Jesse Helms. Can you imagine the screaming we would be hearing from the left. And if a eulogist at the hypothetical Helms funeral (yes, I know he's not dead) had said "It's time to put our differences aside! Let's win this one for Jesse as a testament to his legacy. You Social Democrats, forget about your ideology - help us assure the the principles Senator Helms believed in are remembered at the voting booth". Ahh, the hue and cry would be heard from pole to pole. But that is exactly what Conservatives are being asked to do for a man that is as far to the left as Helms is to the right. Acting like his death somehow elevates Wellstone to sainthood status in order to win an election is hypocritical, vile, and nauseating. Others have said a lot more on this in a more timely fashion. But re-reading the words of Wellstone's campaign finance officer, Rick Kahn, just made me angry that Wellstone's death is being exploited by his own party.