Let's consider Minnesota politics over the past year, shall we? A governor rejected as the GOP vice presidential candidate still eyes the national spotlight by chatting it up on national news shows. A former senator who lost his re-election campaign refuses to face facts and puts our state through the never-ending recount from hell. And a suburban representative to Congress embarrasses the state and herself every few months by granting interviews to national media outlets. Notably absent from the biggest and most ridiculous political news stories in the Twin Cities is Fifth District Rep. Keith Ellison. Ellison quietly and thoughtfully discusses his opinions rather than brashly spewing them on cable TV, makes himself available to his constituents through ample public forums, and introduces common-sense legislation such as co-sponsoring the Uniting American Families Act, which would make it easier for same-sex, non-citizen couples to become American residents. All this, and Ellison recently toured the wreckage of the Gaza-Israeli fighting, after which he refused to take sides, instead calling for renewed diplomacy. It's no wonder Ellison won re-election in 2008 with almost 71 percent of the vote.