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The Minnesota Legislature was supposed to end its annual session on Monday. It had the prerogative to extend the session into May — and it did.

That’s good news for the Vikings, the NFL, and the proponents of a new stadium. If the session had ended Monday, it most likely would have ended without a last-minute compromise on a stadium deal.

So now the Legislature can continue for a few more weeks, as the stadium deal continues to be a poker chip for other things that other politicians want.

Meanwhile, all members of the House and Senate face re-election in 2012. They’d surely like to get to work on keeping their part-time jobs.

For better or worse, how they handle the stadium issue will have far more of an impact than any number of cute babies they kiss or ugly wire-and-cardboard signs they can plant in front yards.