Al Franken the Senate Jester
Thursday July 2, 2009
Now that Al Franken has become the first comedian elected to the U.S. Senate, or at least the first professional comedian, will the joke now be on him?
As a former Saturday Night Live cast member, Franken may soon find himself spoofed on his former show. Asked about the possibility, Franken said he wasn't sure who might do a better impersonation of him, Fred Armisen (who currently plays Obama) or frequent guest Alec Baldwin.
Most of the late-night shows are off this week, so it remains to be seen whether Franken will become a frequent butt of jokes. So far The Daily Show has weighed in on Franken giving the Democrats a nearly super-duper majority, and Stephen Colbert has been wallowing in the terrible news.
Editorial cartoonists, meanwhile, are having fun riffing on Franken's comedic credentials with a series of amusing cartoons.
As a salute to our nation's first comedian-turned Senator, here's a must-see video from the vault: Al Franken impersonating Mick Jagger on "Solid Gold", sometime in the '80s. Yes, that's the future Senator prancing around in tights and singing the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb."
Franken may be just what the Democrats need to come up with their own version of the now-defunct Singing Senators.
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Comments
Way ahead of you… Check out ColbertForCongress.com — we’re trying to draft him to run for his hometown congressional seat.
Com’on. What’s the big deal about a comic entering politics? We’ve had the star of “Bedtime for Bonzo” make it to the presidency, a wrestling showman and the Terminator make it to governorship, and didn’t Gopher from The Love Boat make it to congress? And let’s not forget Fred Thompson – or maybe we should forget.
Besides, many comics have the ability and skill to point out the buffoonery of politics, and remarkably find humor in it. Jon Stewart has made fun of some very important things that affect our lives and, at the same time, drew our attention to it. I hope Colbert and Stewart both run for office.
Let’s hope that Franken skewers with humor the pompous and egoistic twits in the Senate.