No Jokes Here

Today, Al Franken announced his bid to unseat Republican Senator Norm Coleman. You might know of Senator Coleman. He's been a pretty unremarkable senator, but his election is definately noteworthy. He was the former Democratic mayor of St. Paul, who switched parties midterm. In 2002 and at the urging of Karl Rove, he decided to challenge popular progressive Senator Paul Wellstone, whose campaign Coleman co-chair in 1996. Senator Wellstone was taken from us just 2 weeks before election day in a plane crash and Coleman went on to defeat stand-in Walter Mondale.

Al Franken, a native Minnesotan, has joked in the past that in this election only one of the New York Jews running will have been raised in Minnesota. Franken moved to the state when he was 4. I think besides that one bad joke, there won't be many more. I think Franken is very serious, will make a very good senator, and that he will talk about issues that matter to Middle America.



This is a winning message (and it doesn't hurt that he gets in a "Big Dog" quote as well):

President Clinton used to say that there’s nothing wrong with America that can’t be fixed by what’s right with America, or, as I would add, by what’s right with Minnesota. We can lead the fight against global warming and dependence on foreign oil by developing new sources of renewable energy—and create good Minnesota jobs in the process. We can lead the nation in finding life-saving cures by harnessing the potential of stem-cell research. We can lead the nation by sending someone to the Senate who’ll be a voice for a strong and responsible America, one that uses its relationship with our allies to create a better and more secure world for ourselves and for future generations.

Al Franken is a serious student of policy. He's not "just a comedian," he's a man who knows the issues, has good ideas, and will make a good Senator. We'll see how the primary campaign flushes out, but I wish him the best.