He's Good Enough, He's Smart Enough... (Revised)

Friends,

I started a post about my friend Sarah that I promised to write, and I got about halfway through it and I realized that I was making it sound like she was dead. She's not dead. She has an active MySpace account. So I quit writing the post. Think I'm going to friend her and try to stay in touch.

Anyway, this morning on TV I saw the first Al Franken for Senator commercial. Here it is for you presented in glorious YouTube:


Franken seems like a nice enough fellow, and whip smart (plus, he did visit the Mankato campus last year, so that's pretty awesome too). Others may disagree, but whatever. Thing of it is, look what that commercial is selling. I don't know if being being a nice enough fellow and a comedy writer for Saturday Night Live is enough to qualify for a Senate seat. Seems to me he should be focusing on his sincerity and goals for office, and not be working off the argument "I am famous; therefore, qualified to lead." But I have seen the West Wing, and when campaigning, they talk about the "getting to know the candidate" approach to early campaigning...but if you're a celebrity, and as outspoken as Al has been, isn't he already known? And doesn't this seem like just a little smarmy by taking the "getting to know the candidate" thing so literally? (His fourth grade teacher? Really?) So this just looks like he's selling his fame and that's he's a super nice guy. Then again, maybe that's the way celebrity candidacies work. But, check out this Fred Thompson ad:


Despite it's absolutely frightening theocratic assertion that God gives us our rights and not the government (God hates litter, speeding and parking in snow routes?), there's nary a mention of Law & Order or any of Fred Thompson's acting gigs. True, he was in the Senate, but that ad starts when he was a young Fred Thompson then rockets forward to his Senate days, skipping right over his acting days and focuses on what he thinks will get him elected. Does Franken think Minnesotans will elect him because he's been on TV and is a nice enough fellow? Is that how it's done for famous types? Did Arnold play up his acting jobs when he ran for governor? Did Jesse Ventura talk about his wrestling skill during the campaign? (by the way...I found this video pushing Jesse to be Ron Paul's Secretary of Defense...check out Ron Paul's site...he wants to go back to the gold standard...talk about conservative...and he looks a little like Ian McKellan.)

Seems strange to me is all. I mean, all I want to know is why Al Franken is better than Norm Coleman, and how Al Franken is going to do what he plans on. Based off that ad alone, I don't know who I'd vote for because I don't care if he's a nice guy or wrote for SNL. But, more than likely, I'd color in the Franklin dot because I think he's less likely to take the campaign to the God-hole to get votes, and that above all things, scares the bejebus out of me....and Coleman has already been making attack ads against Franklin....not that Al isn't above that:


Oh well. Laws and sausages, right?

Viva el mustache