Democrats blow off possible black candidate for Minnesota Senator. The original Novak column can be found here.

Okay, to be fair, they needed someone with a recognized name and prepackaged characteristics given the short notice, and they would say Page had neither. I'm not Minnesotan anymore, and have no idea whether former Viking Alan Page is a household name or not.

Something few people have pointed out (from Novak's article):

...Hardly anyone engaged in today's politics remembers it, but campaigning never was Fritz Mondale's long suit. He was selected for all his public offices--state attorney general, U.S. senator and vice president--without entering a primary. He ran on his own for the presidency in 1984 in a campaign of unmatched confusion and mistakes. As a former vice president, he nearly lost the nomination for president and ended up carrying only Minnesota and the District of Columbia in the general election.

Okay, once appointed to the Senate, he did win reelection twice, so the guy isn't a complete loser.