Al sat down with Judy Olson for what quickly became a very personal interview.
Sitting down to interview Al Franken one-on-one for the Appleton Press could have been extremely intimidating for this novice writer. A family member commented, “Mom, what are you thinking? Al Franken?! His I.Q. is way off the charts He’s way out of your league!”
Marie Horrigan from Congressional Quarterly caught up with Al about being a candidate.
Franken said the most satisfying part of campaigning has been the chance to see the citizens of Minnesota at their best, as exemplified by the outpouring of help after the massive bridge collapse in Minneapolis last week. “The response was unbelievable, not only the first responders … but people who actually were in cars that actually fell in the river who actually got out and started saving other people,” he said. …
Washington insider Stuart Rothenberg is less skeptical than usual about Al’s bid for the Senate – and he lists a couple reasons why.
Democrats once hoped to face Ronald Reagan for the White House in 1980. They got their wish and eventually were sorry about it. Politics, you see, is a funny, unpredictable business, which is why I’m not writing off Al Franken just yet.
Susan Larson (from the Fergus Falls Daily Journal) met Al for coffee at the Viking Cafe. They only had half an hour, but Al had a lot to say on the subject of caring for our soldiers and veterans.
Franken has visited troops overseas with the USO, traveling to Iraq four times. Those trips, he said, are the highlight of his year, providing him with the opportunity to visit with soldiers first-hand.
“I admire those men and women so much,” he said.
Benny Polacca from the Fargo Forum came out to Al’s rally in Moorhead – here’s his take:
Al Franken spent 15 years making millions of people laugh each week while he starred on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in the 1980s and 1990s.
He did the same Tuesday night in Moorhead for more than 100 people while campaigning for a U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota in 2008.
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Al sat down with Linda Venderwerf of the West Central Tribune at Northern Grounds, a coffee shop in Willmar. He talked about growing up in Minnesota and how he wants to stand up for Minnesotans in the Senate.
When he was growing up in St. Louis Park, Al Franken felt like “the luckiest kid in the world.”
It was a modest, middle-class upbringing, he said, but his family was happy, and he felt lucky.
“I just want every kid in America to be the luckiest kid in the world,” he said Tuesday during a campaign stop in Willmar.
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At a Perkins restaurant in Bemidji, Al sat down with Red Lake Chairman Floyd Jourdain to discuss Indian affairs in Minnesota. Michael Meuers, of the Red Lake Net News, has the story.
Although Franken is somewhat familiar with National Indian issues, his purpose was to learn more about the needs and challenges of Minnesota tribes, and in particular Red Lake as a non-public law 280 tribe. “If I am elected to the U.S. Senate”, said Franken “the two committees that I will seek to serve for sure, are Indian Affairs, and Veterans Affairs. I know that Indian people serve in the military in a greater percentage than much of the rest of the population”, said Franken. (Franken has visited White Earth, Mille Lacs, and had an appointment to visit with Chairman George Goggleye of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe on Friday.)
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In a Dunn Bros. in Bemidji, Al sat down with Pioneer reporter Brad Swenson.
“Once people hear me speak,†he says, “they know I’m serious. They know that I’m not going to be not what I am. I’m not going to de-humorize myself. People who hear me speak know why I’m doing this — I don’t like the direction this country’s been going and I want to change it.
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On Monday Al stopped for a chat at the Lakeview Coffee House in Duluth. The Budgeteer News has the story:
Budgeteer: Why Minnesota instead of New York?
Franken: When I got the job on Saturday Night Live, we moved to New York. My SNL career lasted until ’95. The kids were 14 and 10 by then, and we just didn’t want to uproot them. So, when Air America started, I told Air America I wanted to move to Minnesota to live, because we were beginning to be empty nesters.
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Franni’s making news too! St. Peter Herald reporter Kurt Hildebrandt has the scoop.
Making an appearance for the second straight year will be Franni Franken, wife of Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken who is seeking the Democratic nomination to face U.S. Senator Norm Coleman (R) in 2008.
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