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The O'Franken Factor

February 14, 2007 10:33 PM

On his last day hosting "The Al Franken Show" (formerly "The O'Franken Factor") on the struggling bankrupt liberal radio network "Air America," comedian Alan Stuart "Al" Franken, 55, today declared his intention to unseat incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., in 2008.

"I'm going to run for the United States Senate," he said in his radio farewell which you can hear BY CLICKING HERE.

Born in New York City, Franken as a young boy moved with his family to St. Louis Park, a Minneapolis suburb. Though he lived in New York City as a writer and castmember of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" after graduating from Harvard in 1973, he and his wife Franni Franken (née Bryson) moved back to the Twin Cities in 2005 as a way of preparing for the campaign. Since January 2006, Franken has been hosting his radio show from Minnesota.

In his WEB VIDEO ANNOUNCEMENT Franken acknowledges that "Minnesotans have a right to be skeptical about whether I’m ready for this challenge, and to wonder how seriously I would take the responsibility that I’m asking you to give me." He says "nothing means more to me than making government work better for the working families of this state, and over the next twenty months I look forward to proving to you that I take these issues seriously."

COLEMAN -- the former mayor of St. Paul -- is widely considered one of the Senate's most vulnerable Republicans. Minnesota has been trending Bluer and Bluer, and before Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-MN, died in a plane crash during his 2002 race, it seemed unlikely that Coleman would have been able to beat him.

And while Franken has communications skills, name recognition, and access to wealthy contributors, this ain't going to be easy for a man who has spent the better part of the past 30 years making fun of people. Already the National Republican Senatorial Committee has started digging up OLD QUOTES OF HIS -- including one from the Harvard Crimson circa 1976. Moreover, it is likely that Franken will face opposition during the the Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party, or DFL, primary.

Will the state that elected former Sens. Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale go for the man who gave the world Stuart Smalley? Or will the stars align for Franken as they did for former Gov. Jim Janos (aka Jesse "The Body" Ventura)?

"I know that I have an awful lot to learn from the people of Minnesota," Franken said today. "I'm not a professional politician and I know I'm going to make some mistakes. This is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done."

-- jpt

February 14, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (3)

User Comments

Posted by: TonyT | Feb 17, 2007 9:58:21 PM

Posted by: reyonthehill | Feb 15, 2007 10:57:10 AM

Posted by: chuck | Feb 15, 2007 8:20:55 AM

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