Al Franken is the Real Deal

It's official: Al Franken is the DFL-endorsed candidate for the US Senate seat currently occupied by Norm Coleman. This first-ballot endorsement has been a surprise to many, including MPR's Midday host Gary Eichten and political commentator Mike Mulcahy, but to those in the know this was no surprise.

I am a big fan of MPR, and I have maximum respect and appreciation for everyone at the station, but I must be a little critical as concerns the political commentary that I've been hearing in regards to my man Franken. And this criticism goes to the heart of what the problem really is in American politics.

First, let me express my opinion simply and honestly for the good folks of Minnesota that Al Franken is the real deal. He was a hero of mine long before his announced Senate bid a year and a half ago. And even though I enjoyed his work with Saturday Night Live, Stuart Smiley and all, that work has nothing to do with my admiration for the man.

My sense of what Al Franken is truly about came first from reading his many best-selling books, specifically "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot (and other observations)", "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" and "The Truth (with jokes)". Perhaps you may notice a common theme in these titles, and that is a concern for The Truth.

Those of a more prurient sensitivity, such as DFL Representative Betty McCollum, would most likely be offended by some of the language in these works, and as such would totally miss the valid observations made therein, focusing instead on the way these observations are expressed. Yet it is the implications derived from these observations that should be of utmost concern to all Americans, a concern that is crucial and fundamental to the American way of life. A concern that, if addressed, will surely guide us toward the realization of those noble ideals to which we as true Americans passionately aspire.

The point being made here is that our current American ethos is defined by the primacy of image over substance. In other words, we react to the world as we wish it to be and not as it is. This is not an effective nor productive perspective, to say the least, and one which has cost us much, one we can no longer afford.

My criticism of Mr. Eichten, Mr. Mulcahy and Ms. McCollum must be tempered in light of the current American ethos described above. Yet it remains critical for those with a bully pulpit to act responsibly and to know what they are talking about. Sometimes one must dig deep to get to the truth of a matter, and my criticism of the fine and well-intentioned folks mentioned here is that they have not dug deep enough, that image has taken precedence over substance.

Our democracy depends on a well-informed electorate. Yet knowledge of "facts" in and of themselves is not enough. What is required for this new Millennium is a new paradigm, one that promotes the ability to think clearly and critically, an environment which empowers the individual to assemble the disjointed facts into a relevant perspective, a perspective from which we may take effective and productive action. I believe there is no one in the entire country that has this ability more so than Al Franken.