He’s good enough, he’s smart enough, and doggone it, if the people of the great state of Minnesota like him more than his opponents, he’ll become their senator.
That’s right, folks, the erstwhile Stuart Smalley has moved from saving his family, writing books like Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot, and hosting Air America’s flagship radio show to run for office. (Check out his announcement video here.) But this time the comedian doesn’t want you to laugh — he wants you to take him and his candidacy seriously. And I think we should (whether or not we support his views). After all, look at all the other entertainers who’ve gained public office: Jesse Ventura, The Dukes of Hazzard‘s Ben Jones, The Love Boat‘s Fred Grandy, Sonny Bono, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, um, Ronald Reagan. There is precedent. (Though, hey, Congressman Cooter was pretty funny.)
But this does still raise some questions — beyond who your favorite entertainer-turned-politician is and what other ex-SNLers you’d want to run for office. Can he actually accomplish his goals for changing the country better as a senator (when he would represent only Minnesotans) than as a comedian, author, and talk show host (when he represents everybody)? It’s worth pondering, as is the more elemental question: can he win?
in what universe has al franken ever represented “everybody” ?
Though senators obviously represent their states, don’t they as a collective represent the rest of the nation? I am not familiar enough with Franken’s views to comment too specifically on if he’s the guy, but I do believe we need change in our government.
Only 100 Americans get to be senators and Al Franken definitely doesn’t deserve to be one of them.
Mr. Franken is a smart, accomplished man, and will make an excellent senator. He is an academic, more informed than the majority of incumbents, and would, hopefully, bring some frivolity to CSPAN and other senate proceedings. He is a wonderful choice… I’ll vote for him in a second.
Franken is a funny guy, and he seems well equipped to be a senator. His books are well done, and he has a strong social conscience. I also think he has a good shot of winning.
OPRAH FOR PRESIDENT!
Be careful what you wish for, Minnesota.
Hell to the Yeah he can win. The state hasn’t elected a Republican Senator to a second term since at least before 1994.
The only reason Norm “I’m not from Minnesota” Coleman won in 2002 was because the Greens ran a spoiler candidate and because the Democratic Incumbent Senator DIED a week before the election. That they opted to replaced Paul Wellstone with Walter “my name is a joke and I’m a loser” Mondale may have helped Coleman’s cause.
Apparently, Time Warner’s entertainment wing doesn’t watch CNN as this story was pretty darned big.
That all said, Franken’s got the juice, charisma and brains to be the next Senator from Minnesota. Unless Coleman finds Bin Laden himself, Franken wins this one by a landslide.
I really like Al Franken. I think he is a fuuny, talented, smart dude. But I just don’t see him being a Captol Hill player. I just don’t.
As a native Minnesotan, I am pretty excited to vote for him. Granted I’ll pay attention to the debates and stuff, but you’d have to give me a hundred million bucks to vote for Coleman. And EP Sato is right….had Wellstone not died a week before, Coleman would never be where he is. Wellstone was leading. We loved him here and we still do.
AL is ENTHUSIASTIC about fairness in our country. He is a very ‘well spoken’ individual about politics. I only with the President would take lessons from Al. Good Luck AL, I do hope you win!!!
If it wasn’t so cold in Minnesota (I live in Florida), I would move there just to vote for Al Franken!
I’d seriously consider moving 60 miles North so that I can vote for Al Franken. He’s smart, he’s got a plan, and he’s a decent guy – three attributes you can’t say about most of the people on Capitol Hill. Al rules!
Al Franken is not a formidable candidate. He should stick to comedy, but dabbling in the polital arena, not as funny. He’s ill-informed, too liberal, we don’t need the likes of him, or many of our other congressmen, ruining our country, integrity, and government any more.
Lisa J, this is Minnesota we’re talking about here. It has been one of the most prgressive and liberal states in the union for decades. To say Franken is too liberal for Minnesota is like saying Anne Coulter is too conservative for Texas.
He’s got a shot, if he can keep it about politics and not about his comedy life. Hey, if Jesse Ventura can do it (in Minnesota by the way)…