He's Good Enough.

I guess it's time for me to pack up and hitchhike down the road. Or...across the state, as it were. Because I can't do any good in the state in which I currently reside.

Al Franken is running for the U.S. Senate. I've heard him speak of his political ambitions in the past, and apparently he officially announced his candidacy more than a month ago, but I didn't hear about it until I saw him on Letterman last night.

I want to vote for Al Franken. I want to campaign for Al Franken. I want to read Al Franken's books to people and give them piggyback rides to the polls next November. But I live next door. So I might have to become a Minnesotan, at least for a year. After that, I'll probably be moving to Washington D.C., as a member of Sen. Franken's staff.

Before you dismiss Al as nothing more than a dorky-looking guy who played Stuart Smalley on Saturday Night Live, let me tell you...he's smarter than you. (Yes, you.) (And you, too.) And he can out-debate you. Can we say that either of those statements is true of our present Commander In Charge of Being Called President?

I don't know if Al has presidential aspirations or not, but I consider the Senate to be just a stepping stone for him, and in eight or twelve years we'll be hearing a satirically laced State of the Union Address by President Franken.

One minor point of contention, on which I'll grant him a pass in the name of good humor, was a tongue-in-cheek shot he took at Wisconsin during his interview. He was talking about wind energy and its potential, and the jobs it could create, and the following (scripted) exchange took place:

Letterman: "Is Minnesota a very windy state?"

Future Sen. Al Franken: "Ohhh, yes. There's a lot of wind in Minnesota."

Letterman: "What makes Minnesota so windy?

Sen. Franken: "Well. I didn't say this, but I've hearrrd...it's because the Dakotas blow, and Wisconsin sucks."


I'll give him that one. He'd still get my vote.

Today, the United States Senate. Tomorrow, the White House!

Because he's good enough...he's smart enough...and doggone it, I'd vote for him.

"When you encounter seemingly good advice

that contradicts other seemingly good advice,

ignore them both."

—Al Franken