Minnesota politics have always been, in this generation, an entertaining circus. It's one of the things that makes me miss living there. The net result has been interesting newscasts good for a political junkie like myself, but realistically, the state hasn't produced a politician worth giving serious consideration to since Eugene McCatthy. Minnesota is now represented in the US Senate, the worlds' greatest deliberative body, by Amy and Al, two hard left individuals who prize idealogy over genuine intellect. Living proof that people get the government they deserve.
SPONSORED BY:
- 1
- 2
The Mind of Al Franken
Email To A Friend
Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.
SPONSORED BY
What the guy has, above all, is a remorselessly logical, mathematically precise mind. It was the brain behind a lot of his humor, which de-pended on reducing things (such as self-help advice) to their logically absurd and contradictory essentials.
He aced the math SATs in high school and a number of math courses at Harvard on his way to a degree there. His son, Joe, did the same on his way to engineering honors at Princeton.
It will be fun, and instructive, to watch Franken asking questions at committee hearings. His first chance to do so may well be So-tomayor's confirmation hearings. He already has said that he wants to ask her about campaign-finance reform. He's for it—especially since he's spent the last two years raising cash.
Not only is Franken not clownish, he isn't so down-the-line liberal, either. The way he had to earn his victory—going to every town in every country and listening to every local concern from farmers, local businesspeople and union members—means that he is no Hollywood liberal. He has been mugged by reality.
He is not dogmatic. He is practical. On Wednesday, he repeated his assertion that he favors "universal" health care that involves "universal access, that is affordable and high quality." "Health-care organizations" should be "patient oriented" not just "profit oriented." But I didn't hear him issue a demand about a sweeping "public option"—the sine qua non for liberal groups.
On foreign policy, don't expect him to be a one-man flock of doves. He reluctantly, but earnestly, supported President Bush's initial deci-sion to go to war in Iraq—though Franken quickly soured on, and then became infuriated about, the administration's handling of the war and other aspects of the fight against terrorism.
After a series of USO tours to the war zone stretching over years, Franken has built up an innate respect for, and trust of, the military. He's not going to be the reflexively anti-Pentagon guy many would expect from a former writer on Saturday Night Live.
Throughout the campaign, the most impressive thing about Al was his focus—and his determination to take the best, and often the most cautious, advice. One would-be advisor told him that the best way to deal with his show-biz background was to shine a light on it, play it up.
"That was 100 percent wrong!" Al told me last night. He was laughing.
© 2009
- 1
- 2
Presented By
My Take
Each Newsweek reader is different—and now your Newsweek can be, too. Use this page to create a experience that's personalized for you and your interests. My Take: it makes Newsweek whatever you want it to be.
Discuss