Al Franken for Veep!

His speech at the DNC in 2004 has to count as a credential. He showed that he had a viable blueprint for how the country should be run, and demonstrated that he had the charisma to inspire voters on the national stage. As much as I like Al Franken, I haven’t seen anything from him that suggest he’d be a force on the ticket, or as president if it came to that. I think he’s more effective, and is probably happier, as a thorn in the side.

Now, Al Franken in his Stuart Smalley persona on the Republican ticket I could totally go for. Pathetic attempts at self-validation would fit that role perfectly.

While I think Al would be just fine for the job, I tend to agree. Her running mate will be someone who can help cover her electoral weaknesses in the general.

And it’s the opposite reason to why I think Bernie won’t be selected either. He may bring votes, but he’s not a consensus builder and would probably be a negative for her once she got elected.

Honestly, I would not want Al Franken “to be buried before (he’s) dead”, so keeping him in the Senate is preferable. There was a video clip from about six years ago where he stepped down into the audience at an appearance in Minnesota and calmly, masterfully allayed the anxieties of a Tea-Shirt. That clip gave me the sense that his personable lack of arrogance could be an incredible asset to a national ticket. Yet, stuffing him away in the OEOB just seems like a waste of his talent.

But, it could render him a serious presidential prospect in 2020 or 2024.

Would the American people really have a hard time taking a comedian seriously than they would a guy who got second billing to Bonzo the Chimp?

Or by seeing him on stage with Trump?

Well, of course, in the debates, Franken would be on stage with whomever Trump picks as his running mate, not with Trump himself. Which is too bad, because Franken could wipe the floor with Trump. In 30 minutes he would get off at least a dozen “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy”-level zingers, the kind that turn into popular memes the public remembers decades after the actual election has been largely forgotten.

Yes, but in 2025, Al Franken will turn 73. I am not ageist, starting to get up there myself, but that is kind of pushing the limit. His time should be now, or he should pull a Strom and stay in the Senate for 6 more terms.

Franken is a great writer. He is a good performer when doing comedy. But for some unknown reason, he is snooze-inducing as a Senator.

The reason is probably that he knows it is not a Senator’s job to entertain, which is more than Ted Cruz knows. Not that he hasn’t had the occasional lapse.

It’s badly written. A blatant case of taking an oddball position and throwing out every ignorance-soaked argument you can to try to sound like you have a case.

One thing that made me frown was the claim that Franken would shore up Hillary’s support with Bernie voters because he’s for net neutrality and he’s hip or something. Stuff like that.

Wait, that was the answer to the wrong question. OK, I don’t really have a high opinion of taking Senators out of the Senate to be VP. Find a retired admiral or governor, maybe?

Franken is the living embodiment of Kevin Kline’s line in Grand Canyon:

His very serious Senate record proves otherwise.

None of Franken’s books are badly written, and nothing he’s done in the Senate neither. What on Earth are you talking about?!

No, it proves my point. It’s all too easy to mistake poise and eloquence for knowledge and intelligence. He is an actor and comedian, and very good at pretending to be something he isn’t.

Also on the huh side here. He’s been a nerdy studious policy wonk if anything.

I always thought his SNL sketches were, though. But his acting was worse than his writing.

He has plenty of knowledge and intelligence. Anyone who has ever read one of his books knows that.

She was quite obviously talking about the article you linked not Franken’s books.

Badly written it is not.