Not a typo: The AP reports from Minnesota that out of 2.9 million votes cast, Al Franken fell 571 short of upsetting his GOP nemesis Norm Coleman in their U.S. Senate death match. Coleman claimed victory early this morning while the defiant politico comic pledged to fight on with a recount, taking one last tour around the state to rummage beneath couch cushions and car seats for the mislaid ballots that will send him laughing all the way to Washington. And with the caravan of lawyers behind him, that might take a while.Coleman's narrow margin of victory — 1,210,942 to 1,210,371 (a third-party candidate pulled most of the remaining votes evenly from Coleman and Franken) — would automatically prompt a recount, the results of which won't likely be known until next month. Especially with Franken and his attorneys hovering nearby and the SNL alum on the lookout for anywhere else he can close the gap — starting with conspiracies, natch:

He said his campaign was already looking into reports of irregularities in Minneapolis where some voters had trouble registering, though he wouldn't elaborate. "We won't know for a little while who won the race, but at the end of the day we will know the voice of the electorate is clearly heard," Franken said. "This has been a long campaign, but it is going to be a little longer before we have a winner."

A brutal feeling to be sure, but look at it this way, Al: Crushing, expensive political defeats like these can only do wonders for your Oscar chances. Get to work!