Something to keep in mind about Comedy

[underpants]

2. I remember the Gottfried thing

at least the Aristocrats joke - which is disgusting but the point of it is how it's told. There's a whole movie of famous comedians doing that joke.

As a longtime fan of comedy I agree. It may have been funny during the creation of it but it just doesn't work.

I'm guessing Franken was playing to the crowd around him. USO shows from Bob Hope to now have always been bawdy and there's always "the girl" for the soldiers' enjoyment. Franken was probably just playing off the vibe of the audiences they'd been performing in front of and he got caught up in it and went too far. Not an excuse just an explanation.