Al Franken, after giving due consideration to the possibilities, and after dragging out the announcement for the whole of his three-hour program (broadcast today from Washington DC), has decided that he will not run for the Minnesota US senate seat being vacated by Dayton in 2006.
What this will ultimately mean for Minnesota has yet to be determined. I have not been very warm to the idea of Franken actually running except that I wanted to see him give Norm Coleman a whapping in public ( a race that would take place in '08). I have always thought Franken is a bright man but he has spent his carreer making people laugh. The big question that remains for him is whether or not people will now take him seriously.
The field for 2006 remains wide open and the pundits for local and national radio are focussing only on the right-wing side of things. Perhaps Al Franken has a heart-felt desire also to take it to Norm Coleman publicly. The 2008 race gives Al a chance to develop his viability.
His recent work as a talk show host puts him in good company as far as Minnesota politics is concerned. Our current fluffy junior senator, Norm Coleman, worked for the local right-wing hack station (KSTP AM) as did our former Governor Jesse Ventura. Former Senator Rod Grams also had experience as a small-time TV news anchor.
His candidacy would certainly make any race much more interesting. The legacy of Hubert H Humphrey, Walter Mondale and Paul Wellstone, as it would be lvied out in Al Franken, will have to wait a bit longer.
I wonder what Paul's older son is doing in 2006.
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