Sunday Newscape Magazine

As an ex-mathematician, I like digits, numbers.

While statistics can be made to lie, I don’t believe pure numbers do. Except perhaps when manipulated by Rush Limbaugh, as in the recent Supreme Court decision involving Sotomayor, where the G.O.P. entertainer (magician is perhaps a better word here) transformed a 5-4 SCOTUS decision into a 9-0 decision..

Numbers haven’t lied in the case of the Franken-Coleman election battle.

On a 5-0 vote (that is unanimous), the Minnesota Supreme Court today declared Democrat Al Franken the winner in that state’s bitterly contested senatorial election.

In “Court Rules Franken Has Won Senate Seat,” and before an even bigger announcement, the New York Times had these other interesting, indisputable numbers - ”factoids”:

• $51.1 million has been raised between Coleman and Franken for the entire campaign
• $50.3 million has been spent between the two candidates
• $11 million (at least) has been spent on the recount
• 2,424,946 votes were cast
• 312 votes separate the candidates (Franken leads)
• 239 days since Election Day 2008
• 34 weeks since Election Day 2008
• 7 months, 27 days since Election Day 2008
• 4 seasons seen since Election Day 2008 election.

Later this afternoon another number, another factoid, became the big number of the day 

This happened when Norman Coleman finally, after 239 days since the elections, conceded to Al Franken.

The number is "60."