Al Franken calls off the funny stuff for a real run for the Senate from Minnesota
By Lagan Sebert

Al Franken

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 4/12/07 – All joking aside, Al Franken want to be Senator Al Franken and if it means keeping a straight face for four years, he will do it. Famous as a star of “Saturday Night Live,” a best-selling author and liberal radio talk show host, he’s been known to reinvent himself. Yet his latest transition is the most drastic one yet.

In a CNN interview with Larry King asked why a man who has made a career out of making fun of politicians would all of a sudden want to be one. Franken responded matter-of-factly, “I think I can do more, and so I’m going to run for the United States Senate.”

There is many an Armchair politician that could attest to being dissatisfied with the execution of federal politics, so what is it that separates Franken from the rest? For one, time and time again popular entertainers have proven their ability in the political realm. Though Franken has made his name in comedy he has been a fierce political watchdog his entire career.

Franken added during the Larry King interview that, “I, over the last several years, have looked at the direction this country is going and I’m concerned and I don’t like it. And this has been part of my evolution and I think it’s time that we held our government accountable.”

He explained that pushing forward on issues such as development of a universal health care system and addressing the issue of Global Warming would be two issues at the top of his list.

Franken commented that business growth associated with renewable energy and environmentally friendly products could help revitalize America’s manufacturing sector and actually propel economic growth.

Franken stated that, “Here in Minnesota, there’s a Ford plant closing. We should be making wind turbines there… — this is windy state.”

Franken added with his signature snide wit that, “one of the dumbest things this president said — and that’s a high bar, Larry — is that if we abided by Kyoto, it would ruin our economy. Well, the opposite was true. And we can do this and it’s a great opportunity to create jobs. It’s win, win, win, win.”