Al Franken: NYT Columnist Paul Krugman on The Debt Ceiling
His Strategies to Thwart the GOP’s Financial Terrorism - May 7, 2023.
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I really enjoy Al Franken's weekly podcasts - he not only attracts terrific guests (not for a change 
) but it's great to hear from him again. I was fortunate to see him in person when his National Tour came to my area (Albany, NY) and he spoke for over two hours to a sold out crowd using only a microphone, a stool and three glasses of water. He talked a little about his SNL days, but mostly about his time in the Senate. And he told jokes (Ted Cruz), did impersonations (McConnell) and said that when his committee was waiting, Dianne Feinstein would ask him to tell a joke - and there were often disagreements about what it meant, LOL.
And while he was speaking, he drew one of his signature maps of the States - and offered to sign it and donate it to a local Democratic charity. And it wasn't a surprise that the crowd loved him, urged him to run again. And at the end, he got a standing ovation. 
I do wish he'd run again, but you know what they say about "twice burned," and though so many of his colleagues regret their judgment of him, based on nothing, I'm afraid it's too little, too late now. 
Since I was thinking about him, I was struggling to remember one G-rated joke that he told the crowd in Albany, so I asked my friend who was also there and now have the punch line:
Two older gentlemen were driving together and the guy on the passenger's side suggested that they stop somewhere for dinner. So his friend asked him where he wanted to go. The two of them couldn't decide until the driver suggested they stop at "the place with the great lasagna!"
But neither of them could remember the name of the place, hard as they tried, until the driver had an idea and asked his friend to "name a flower." His friend said "daisy?" "No, fancier." "Okay, tulip?" "No, even fancier." "Rose??"
"That's it!" So the driver turned to his wife in the backseat and asked "Rose, what's the name of that place with the great lasagna?" 
"I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!" Stuart Smalley
And I remember seeing this one on Saturday Night Live!
SNL: Daily Affirmation: Michael Jordan
On his show "Daily Affirmation", Stuart Smalley (Al Franken) is joined by special guest Michael Jordan. Jordan joins Smalley in a daily affirmation despite the fact that Jordan does not require any emotional reinforcement. Aired 09/28/91.
And Al Franken was totally in character in these, completely different from the smart and confident senator he was - but he's always had his humor!
He may not have a law degree, but he's smarter (and good enough and people like him, LOL) than most of those he used to deal with, In the interview he talked about his wife being in recovery - and I believe that's the reason he didn't fight the calls for him to resign. He said that he based Stuart Smalley on a guy he met in Alanon, which he joined to support his wife - so I remembered this video his wife made from way back and thought you'd be interested in that, too - explains a lot.
The Franni ad
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017469913
I was reading Sen. Franken's current bestseller, Al Franken, Giant of the Senate, and did a search for the ad discussed in Chapter 19, "Franni Saves the Campaign".
Thanks for that!!
