by Christy Karras
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article appeared in 3/12/2005 Edition
Last time Al Franken was scheduled to come to Utah, it was as the author of the best-selling political satire, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.
That appearance at Sundance Resort, as part of its Tree Room Author Series, was canceled due to a death in Franken's family, but he promised to return. That will happen Saturday, when he appears as host and commentator on Air America radio, the left's answer to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. And sometime soon, he might also be a candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Stuart Smalley? It's hard to recall Franken's "Saturday Night Live" alter ego and think of that self-absorbed self-help addict arguing the finer points of the budget deficit in the Capitol Building.
But Franken, who is trying to gauge potential support for a Senate bid in his home state of Minnesota, says people shouldn't compare him to Jesse Ventura, a former wrestler who became governor there.
"I'm not sure that he's terribly beloved," Franken said of Ventura, who didn't accomplish much during his tenure, besides making the state a butt of late-night television jokes.
Franken, who still calls himself a professional comedian, made his name writing for and starring on "Saturday Night Live." But the Harvard graduate (in political science) grows completely serious when it comes to issues.
"This is a very split country. . . . The trick is getting your people out and the people who are not partisan, getting them to see your side," he said in a phone interview from his Minnesota studio.
He calls himself "a very partisan Democrat, but there are Republicans I like very much. I think there are issues that transcend party that we really need to work on," including Medicare and health care in general.
Sounding like a true politician, he continues: "It's never always just about issues. It's about how authentic you are: Do you care about people, do you communicate with people, do you care about their lives? It's about judgment, integrity, making sure you're a person who says what he believes and believes what he says."
He has considered what it would be like to switch from lambasting politicians on the radio to trying to craft compromises with them in the Senate. "If you have a sense of humor and are a basically decent guy, you'll like me. Tom DeLay [the House Majority Leader from Texas] wouldn't like me - you know, corrupt, evil guys," he deadpans.
He says he is bewildered by President Bush's policies - "It feels to me like he's not paying attention to the bigger issues of our country and our world" - and likes Howard Dean, who now heads a Democratic Party in desperate need of revitalization.
In the debate over whether Democrats should fight tough or play nice in the fight with Republicans, Franken sides with the former camp. "I think you've got to just hit back."
One of Franken's most famous strikes came when he got into a heated debate with conservative Fox News talk show host Bill O'Reilly at a book convention a couple years ago. Fox News sued Franken; Franken won, but O'Reilly continues to pelt Franken with comparison to Nazi propagandists and usually refuses to even call him by name.
Franken said "The Al Franken Show," now heard on about 50 stations across the country but not in Utah, is going "very, very well. We hope to add Salt Lake City." He will air his show from Sundance on Friday before speaking at a Saturday luncheon.
Al Franken will appear at Sundance Resort on Saturday as part of the Tree Room author series. Single tickets are sold out, but packages for all five series authors, including Franken, are still available for $300, which includes lunch and a copy of each author's book.
For information, call the Sundance Activities Desk at 801-223-4567.