Word: frankens
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...This month, Franken stopped arguing about how un-Hollywood his lifestyle is (he's been married to the same Minnesota woman for 32 years, and she made extra sandwiches when she heard I was spending the day with him) and instead ran ads about how he's not proud of all the jokes he's told. Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic Senator from Plymouth, Minn., applauded Franken for that. "Minnesotans, if they hear people saying things they think are inappropriate, they want an explanation. I think it's good he confronted it and talked about it." Franken has hired all kinds...
...Back when he was trying to be the Bill O'Reilly of the left, ranting as a host on Air America and writing books like Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations, Franken didn't have to modulate his personality. Now he has cut way back on the joking and has become a little more boring than people are used to. Which wouldn't be a big deal - he's still funnier than any other candidate in American history - but voters here are so familiar with him that a little holding back erodes his authenticity. "Occasionally...
...local politics of Minnesota, first going to Washington to meet all the state's Representatives and then systematically meeting everyone who influences county politics and who would later need to be wooed at the state caucuses. "I enjoyed it, but not to the extent Bill Clinton does," says Franken. And he's a little worn down from all the fund-raising. "I don't mind calling people for money. I mind asking people for money for five hours in a row. It drives me crazy." His footing has been good, despite the fact that his campaign says opponents have several...
...After the Rogers parade, Franken rides an hour to the Chisago County Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party BBQ, where he asks the jazz band of elderly men to play him in. In front of 50 people, he delivers his stump speech about how kids he meets in high schools cannot remember an America that is respected in the world. Then he jogs off to serve hot dogs. Standing nearby is Jim Oberstar, a Democrat in the House since 1975, who marvels at how hard Franken has worked the state. Oberstar has given Franken only one bit of advice, which he delivered...
...Which is the other challenge that comes with tempering Franken's sense of humor: he can't use it to hide his aggression. Franken is that rare confrontational nerd, the tough Jew of a generation before him instead of the smoother, modern one that Coleman exemplifies. He still has the chest and disposition of a high school wrestler, and he famously took down a disruptive heckler at a Howard Dean rally in 2004. He loves obscure policy details, partly because he can use them to verbally beat up opponents. At the debate with Coleman on Aug. 5 at Farmfest...