Can Franken Keep His Cool?

By Tom Bevan - Realclearpolitics.com

Al Franken is telling members of the Minnesota delegation he's running for Senate against Norm Coleman next year. He might be a very formidable candidate, or he might end up joining Howard Dean, et al. in the political flame out Hall of Fame. At this point I'd say it's a coin flip.

For one thing, Franken is a loose cannon. He's made a living by shooting his off his mouth - at times in very humorous ways - but he doesn't strike me as possessing enough self-discipline to rein things in. Over the course of a long campaign, I can see his seemingly genetic predisposition for irreverence catching up with him at some point.

The other problem is that in between bouts of humor, Franken can come across as angry and condescending - two traits don't wear well with voters over time. He also seems to have a pretty thin skin and could lose his cool, like he did at the 2004 Republican National Convention when he got into a tussle with a producer from the Laura Ingraham show on "radio row:"

Minnesota is not so blue that Franken can afford to be turning off moderates and independents with any antics, goofy or otherwise.

The Governor's race last November is a good cautionary tale for Franken: in a big Dem year, DFLer Mike Hatch led incumbent Republican Tim Pawlenty by a slim margin all the way to the end of the race until Hatch mishandled a last minute brouhaha concerning his running mate's inability to answer a question about E85 (a blend of ethanol). Angered by repeated questions, Hatch lashed out at reporters, calling one a "Republican whore." He ended up losing the race by 22,483 votes out of more than 2.2 million cast.

So will Franken be able to keep his cool? Like I said, the betting line is probably even money.

Some people don't take constructive criticism well. . .

Apparently, Al Franken can't play nice in the sandbox. Here's a few photos of him jumping down the throat of Laura Ingram's producer while broadcasting at the RNC in NYC.



Apparently, Franken is doing so poorly on radio, that long-time Hollywood liberal Robert Redford will be broadcasting one hour of Franken's three-hour radio show on cable's Sundance Channel.

Just another reason why I'm glad I don't have cable. Although, since I don't have Comedy Central, I can't watch the old SNL reruns featuring Franken's Stuart Smalley character. Radio Franken is a bit of a departure from the old TV Franken.



"I'm Al Franken! I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and $@&*!#*, PEOPLE $@*&!# LIKE ME!

Anger is getting the better of Dems

New York Daily News: I've been listening to Air America Radio since it started playing in the Sacramento market, and I'm astonished by the venom that oozes from my speakers. It's obscene. I'm not surprised that they've found actors/comedians as the vehicle to deliver their rants and hatred under the cover of "satire." That's how Air America gets away with broadcasting hate speech -- because it's witty! This is why Al Franken, Janeene Garofalo and Margaret Cho have found their calling spewing hate -- sorry satire, to an audience who would listen to their recitation of the entire NYC phone directory if it was proceeded with "Bush lied" and ended with "Vote for Kerry." With this crowd, they'd come back asking for more.

In brushing off his critics, Al Franken said "satire is still satire even when the satiree doesn't get it." So if you're a democrat taken in by Franken, Garofalo or Cho's hatred, you justify "it's okay, because it's just sarcasm or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity -- and we all know that Bush is stupid, so I need not let my conscience bother me, because after all, I'm morally superior to every Republican on the planet." (See -- I can use satire too!)

So -- the question I ask myself over and over -- Why does this condition exist with Democrats? I found my answer today in the NY Daily News. Charles Krauthammer chalks it to "hydraulic release."

"It is not often that a losing presidential candidate (Al Gore) compares the man who defeated him with Hitler and Stalin. It is not often that a senior party leader (Edward Kennedy) accuses a sitting President of starting a war ('cooked up in Texas') to gain political advantage for his reelection.

The loathing goes far beyond the politicians. Liberals as a body have gone quite around the twist. I count one all-star rock tour, three movies, four current theatrical productions and five best sellers (a full one-third of the New York Times list) variously devoted to ridiculing, denigrating, attacking and devaluing this President, this presidency and everyone who might, God knows why, support it.

How to explain? With apologies to Dr. Freud, I propose the Pressure Cooker Theory of Hydraulic Release.

The hostility, resentment, envy and disdain, all superheated in Florida, were not permitted their natural discharge. Came 9/11 and a lid was forced down. How can you seek revenge for a stolen election by a nitwit usurper when all of a sudden we are at war and the people, bless them, are rallying around the flag and hailing the commander-in-chief? With Bush riding high in the polls, with flags flying from pickup trucks, the President was untouchable.

The Democrats fell unnaturally silent. For two long, agonizing years, they had to stifle and suppress. The forced deference nearly killed them. And then, providentially, they were saved. The clouds parted and bad news rained down like manna: WMDs, Abu Ghraib, Richard Clarke, Paul O'Neill and, most important, continued fighting in Iraq.

Stripped of his halo, Bush's ratings went down. The spell was broken. He was finally once again human and vulnerable. With immense relief, the critics let loose.

The result has been volcanic. The subject of one prominent new novel is whether Bush should be assassinated. This is all quite unhinged.

What if Bush is reelected? If they lose to him again, Democrats will need more than just consolation. They'll need therapy. "