Can Al Franken Be a Funny Senator?

Senator Al Franken, of Minnesota, hates headlines that say “no joke.” He was subjected to a perhaps unprecedented run of them back when he was running for office for the first time, in 2008. “No Joke: Franken Announces Senate Bid,” “No Joke: Franken Wins DFL Nomination,” “No Joke: Franken Wins Recount.” There were fewer “no joke” headlines in 2014, when he ran for, and easily won, reëlection. Now he’s a second-term senator, still a progressive with unapologetically partisan views, but one eager to explain the new friendships he’s struck up with some of the most conservative members of the Senate, such as Pat Roberts, of Kansas, and Jeff Sessions, of Alabama, who is now the Attorney General and whose wife once knit a blanket for Franken’s grandson.

See the rest of the story at newyorker.com

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