Sen. Norm Coleman has said Democratic challenger Al Franken should accept defeat, renounce his right to an automatic recount and let Minnesota move on.

We respectfully disagree.

Yes, we endorsed Coleman and still would prefer to see him retain his seat. And after the ugliness of the past three months, we’d be more than happy to see these two men get out of the headlines and media spotlight for a while.

But with nearly 3 million votes cast, Coleman prevailed by 439 votes, at least after the latest adjustment to the figures. State law mandates a recount if the margin of victory is less than half of 1 percent, and in this case, the margin is one one-hundredth of 1 percent. That’s not merely a razor-thin victory — it’s infinitesimal.

If ever a race demanded a recount, it’s this one. Asking Franken to give up that right is the equivalent of asking the losing coach in a Super Bowl to forego an instant replay on the controversial touchdown that decided the game. In elections, as in sports, we prefer to know who really won, even if it takes some extra time.

The recount, which will include a visual inspection of every ballot, could last a month and cost close to $100,000. Both sides will likely have lawyers present throughout the process, and there almost certainly will be some quibbling about “irregularities.” As we know from what happened in Florida eight years ago, things could get ugly.

But it’s in Coleman’s best interests for the recount to take place. He should go to Washington knowing he won, not thinking he won. After a campaign that’s been remarkably devoid of dignity and a sense of decorum, now’s the time for him to say, “Let’s do what’s necessary to make sure the outcome is beyond dispute.”

We’d even encourage both campaigns to kick in $50,000 to cover the costs of the recount. After spending about $20 million apiece during the campaign, there should be enough left in petty cash to cover that bill.

As for getting the “healing process” started, well, Minnesotans are a pretty tough lot, and the ugly war staged by these two candidates hasn’t scarred us too badly.

We’ll be just fine, thank you very much, while elections officials make sure we end up with the right guy in the Senate.

— Post-Bulletin of Rochester, Nov. 7