From the Washington Post, "Reliable Source" column penned by Richard Leiby:
"Garrison Keillor is urging fellow author, radio host and Minnesotan Al Franken to take the plunge and prepare for a U.S. Senate bid (as a Democrat, natch). "Al ought to give up radio, which is awfully hard work for a TV guy like himself, and establish residence in Minneapolis, near where he grew up, and get himself a late-model car and drive around and see the state. It's a wonderful place and, doggone it, people would like him," Keillor said in an interview published Saturday on Salon.com. "I'll do some fundraisers for him myself."
The man from Lake Wobegon calls Franken "a natural on the stump -- he has a terrific grin that makes people feel good, unlike so many Midwestern liberals who are about as warm as a concrete block." Keillor, an ardent foe of current Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, rules out a race of his own. "Writing is the best way to spend what time is left to me," says the 62-year-old. "Sit at my dining room table and try to write what is given to me to write -- a comic novel, a sonnet, a Lake Wobegon story, a parody of the president, a limerick about a lady named Reba who cried out in rapture, 'Ich liebe,' a rhapsody to homegrown tomatoes." You betcha."
But for the fact that uber-con Minnesota Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer doesn't count absentee ballots unless they're cast for the right (ask anyone about the Mondale/Coleman race, or click here), I would most certainly do my best to cast my vote for Franken.
2 comments:
I just loved Franken's latest book, I'd be happy to see him get more involved. Heck, the republicans have Schwarzenegger - Franken seems a subdued choice in comparison.
I'm not sure. Though if he were to run, I think I'd have to move MN and help out, it's possible that Franken is able to do more left-wing good with his large un-politically-constipated microphone. I certainly think he's rallied support in ways big and small -- one article I read said he arranged a meeting with Kerry and high-up Dems during the primaries that put Kerry back on the map. Maybe he's worth more as a loud mouth than a as a stressed politician.
By the way, Garrison Keillor is my favorite. I just read his new book "Homegrown Democrat," which is wonderful. Both a delightful read and a nice treatise on what it Means to be a dem. Borrow my copy if you like....
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