THEY LOVE HIM, BUT IT’S A TOUGH CROWD

02/18/2007

BY RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER
Pioneer Press


Driving toward the Iron Range for one of the first stops in his days-old U.S. Senate campaign, comedian-turned-candidate Al Franken says he's not upset that Republicans sought to publicize the less political statements he's made in books, shows and speeches.

That was to be expected. The Democrat, who has spent years trying to make people laugh, was upset with what was missing from some of the quotes.

"It took the joke out. It took the funny out," Franken said from the backseat of a hybrid sport utility vehicle.

What the GOP didn't seem to get, he said, was that some of his humor is based on a character: "It's a character I play of myself. It's this jerk. It's a comic conceit — me as jerk."

Are Minnesotans ready to oust U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman for a man who has played a jerk in print, television and radio, discussed past drug use and moved from New York back to his home state of Minnesota to run for office?

With 20 months to go before Election Day 2008, it's not at all clear.

Friday, during Franken's maiden journey outside the Twin Cities as a candidate, voters in reliably Democratic areas embraced him.

"You are my hero. You're the working man's working man," said Charlie Preston, who works part time in a gas station where Franken and his caravan stopped.

Preston lives in Alborn Township, which has a population of about 400 and a median per capita income of about $19,000. Franken spent much of his adult life in New York, population about 8 million, and has a personal income that's likely many multiples above the average in Alborn.

Still, in Franken, Preston sees a candidate he can support.

"I saw a man who was genuinely concerned," Preston said.

Franken's fame — warts and all — also got kudos on the road.

During his visit up north, he was praised for his sharp criticism of the Bush administration; was asked to sign books, posters and old "Saturday Night Live" records; and won praise from folks like Preston.

"We need someone who is recognizable," said Ron Kingsbury, of Keewatin, who came to see Franken in Nashwauk on Friday.

"Al Franken is Al Franken. I don't think anything he's said is going to hurt him," said Rachel Scott, a Democratic activist who saw Franken in Duluth. She was impressed that his campaign reached out to activists like her and arranged the first outstate stops in union halls.

His fame helped him garner large crowds in the Nashwauk and Duluth union halls.

Outside, temperatures were in the teens in Nashwauk on Friday, but inside the packed AFSCME Council 65 union hall it was hot and steamy. People pushed into the hall's meeting room and spilled out the door to hear Franken speak.

At both stops he mentioned that he's been married for 31 years — some of them happily. Ba-dum-bum.

He paid tribute to U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone in the Duluth Labor Temple's recently renamed Wellstone Hall and imitated the late senator's enthusiasm for everything.

If Wellstone were ordering breakfast, Franken said, he wouldn't just order eggs, he'd order EGGS! He wouldn't ask for toast, he demand TOAST! And the toast would be the BEST EVER!

And, just like a seasoned politician, he got the crowds nodding and applauding as he called for real leaders in Washington, universal health care and better services for veterans.

"Republicans say I'm angry," Franken said in Duluth. "My question to them is: Why aren't you angry? Why aren't you angry at this war?"

Franken said he supported the 2002 congressional resolution that authorized force in Iraq. Since then he's railed against the way the war has been handled, against Congress for not actively questioning wartime dealings and against the White House for misleading the American public.

But after his Nashwauk appearance, Franken didn't always have the right answers for the politically attuned crowd.

"I just wanted to make sure: Are you up on the PBGC issue?" Dennis Elj asked.

"No," Franken said.

"The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.," Elj said.

"Yeah," Franken responded. "Pensions have to be protected."

That was enough to show Elj that Franken was able to be educated on the issue, he said.

"I don't expect him to be up to speed on every issue. Hopefully, he makes the connection," Elj said. "I just wanted to put a face in front of him because it affects me and is very important to me."

Elj was a steelworker for 29 years and three months. Then National Steel declared bankruptcy in 2002. Had he been there 30 years, he would have been eligible for a full pension. Because of PBGC rules, he needs to work for nine months more to get a full pension.

Gary Kaminen, of Keewatin, was less satisfied with Franken's answers to questions about all-terrain vehicle access to government land.

"He's pretty green," Kaminen muttered to local folks as he walked away. "On ATV issues, he's still pretty green."

Franken admits he has a lot to learn on Minnesota-specific issues.

For his radio show on Air America, which ended the day he announced his campaign, and for his best-selling books of political criticism and satire, Franken studied up on national issues, he said. He's well-schooled on issues surrounding the Iraq war and renewable energy but less familiar with Indian tribal politics, ATV issues and the DM&E railroad controversy.

"Issues that pertain more to Minnesota, (those are) the kind of issues I wasn't studying for the show," he said.

But he's a quick study.

During his speeches in Northern Minnesota, where the population is heavily Eastern European, he complained that the United States' health care system was ranked 37th in world between Slovenia and Costa Rica. That's based on a controversial 2000 World Health Organization report, which used 1997 data.

"I know where I am," he said to laughs in Duluth. "Slovenia, I know, is going to overtake us. I'm rooting for Slovenia."