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Sept. 17, 2007 issue - Al Franken isn't used to holding his tongue. Knowing that, one might expect the froggy, horn-rimmed comedian to punctuate a recent lunch at his offices in St. Paul, Minn., with the sort of anti-right barbs that launched him on "Saturday Night Live" in 1975, propelled his books to the top of the best-seller lists and resurfaced on gleeful GOP fliers after he announced in February that he was running for U.S. Senate from Minnesota. (REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS ARE SHAMELESS D--KS, read one.) Except that Franken actually wants to be a senator. Which means that when he's asked about gay rights, he says, "I am pro—" and then, watching his words, "—I am for legalizing gay marriage." When asked what he dislikes about campaigning, he admits, "as far as reading the news, I'm unhappy with falling be—of not being ahead of the curve." And when asked about his favorite recent "SNL" sketch—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi emphasizing Democratic priorities like health care, Iraq and, ahem, "rough sex"—he cuts himself off as the phrase "leather S&M outfit" leaves his lips. "I'm off message," he says. In showbiz, maybe not. On Capitol Hill? Um, just a little.
Al Franken: Can a Gag Man Become Senator? - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20657198/site/newsweek/ - broken link)
Maybe he can ask Jesse "The Rock" Ventura how to best appeal to the discerning Minnesota electorate.
Now now. Everyone knows it's Jesse 'The Body' Ventura.
Favorite laugh from his reign? When he announced he wanted to be known as Jesse 'The Mind' Ventura.
Awesome.
As for Al, I think his history as a comedian shouldn't preclude him from running any more than Reagan or Thompson's histories as actors should have/should preclude them from running.
People can be good at more than one thing. Besides, as Franken is an outspoken political and social critic, I've heard people say things like "If he could do so much better why doesn't HE try running the country." Stuff like that? This might be his chance to do rather than to critique.
I just watched the First Five Years of Sat. Night Live. Al Franken used to be a smart, funny guy. He's turned into a sad, bitter and insulting man. I don't live in MN, but I would never vote for someone with such a negative and sarcastic view of life.
Considering that the Minneapolis-St Paul area has a metro population of about 3.4 million, and Minnesota as a whole has a population of about 5 million, he really only needs to focus his campaign on a single area.
Duluth and Rochester are also pretty liberal, so I guess he could stand a decent chance. Now if he were running in Texas...
Maybe he can ask Jesse "The Rock" Ventura how to best appeal to the discerning Minnesota electorate.
That's all I can think of too. Any state that would elect Jesse Ventura, a wrestler with almost no history in politics, would surely be able to elect a stand-up comedian who has been politically active for the past 3 decades.
Minnesota is an interesting state. I like it. They keep the USA from being too boring.
You mean, this is a paraphrase of the question, can a man who used to perform on stage in Las Vegas with a chimp (Ronald Reagan) legitimately become President of the United States?
You mean, this is a paraphrase of the question, can a man who used to perform on stage in Las Vegas with a chimp (Ronald Reagan) legitimately become President of the United States?
Have you ever seen the film "Silver Streak"? It was Franken and not Reagan, and a gorilla, not a chimp.
Though I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this....
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