He's good enough he's smart enough and gosh darn it conservatives hate him
My dear "Don't-I-Know-You" readers, I must admit that I sort of cheated on this week's column. Every week I'm supposed to write about personalities from ASU's campus. Just when I thought I was hitting a dry spot, I found a whole new crop of personalities - and I promise I will be talking to them in the weeks to come. But this week I had the opportunity to interview one of the most controversial personalities in the country, Al Franken.
So I figured, it's my column, and in the words of Eric Cartman, "Whateva, I do what I want!" Franken's book, Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them, was No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller List and the author is also known for his writing on Saturday Night Live, as well as his character, Stewart Smalley. This Saturday, Franken will be speaking at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe. Unfortunately, for those of us without tickets, the event is sold out. However, Franken will be attending a meet-and-greet at the Marquee Theatre prior to his performance.
SPM: First of all, I'd like to say congratulations on the Lie Tai. According to a Washington Post article when you bought drinks for fans at a local bar because the Ritz Carlton was too expensive, they named a new cocktail after you: the Lie Tai.
Franken: (Laughs heartily) I didn't know that. Someone told me about that article, but not that detail.
SPM: I just read a column on World Net Daily calling you an irrelevant sissy. What's up with that?
Franken: When Rich Lowry said democrats were sissifying politics, I challenged him a fight in the garage. But we didn't end up doing it.
SPM: Do you miss Bill Clinton?
Franken: I saw him speak a few weeks ago at the council on foreign relations for a couple of hours ... in fairness to Bush, there's more to presidency to being a good public speaker.
SPM: Like what?
Franken: I think it's best when a president engages the rest of the world and doesn't base politics on personal petulance and doesn't refuse to read the newspaper.
SPM: Since you've done so many interviews, how about I make this a little more simple and do some word association. I'll say the name of someone and you say the first thing that comes to your head.
Franken: OK.
SPM: Rush Limbaugh.
Franken: Uhh, drug addict.
SPM: David Horowitz.
Franken: Umm, right wing.
SPM: Ann Coulter.
Franken: Hysteric.
SPM: Paul Wolfowitz.
Franken: Neocon.
SPM: Selma Hayek.
Franken: Gorgeous.
SPM: Dick Butkus.
Franken: Linebacker.
SPM: Cruz Bustamonte.
Franken: Lieutenant Governor.
SPM: Bill O'Reilly.
Franken: Angry.
SPM: Jayson Blair.
Franken: Tragedy.
SPM: In your book you have a group of students called "Team Franken," working on your research. ASU was just called Harvard of the Southwest by our local newspaper. Any chance of you working with any of us?
Franken: Maybe if I need heat without humidity. It was such a good experience but chances are I'll stay close to home.
SPM: In your book you state that the average salary of all journalists is six-figures, where did this come from? Cause I looked at that and I was confused. I'm lucky if I make $600.
Franken: Well, you're still a student aren't you? Those answers came from people who responded to the poll.
SPM: One of our editors got you confused with Al Sharpton. Does that happen a lot?
Franken: No.
SPM: I read the following on the Rush Limbaugh Web site. They were referring to the liberal response to his drug addiction: "They can't help themselves and frankly, we couldn't either if Al Franken got picked up in a motel with an underage boy or an overage goat."
Franken: There's no danger of that happening ... When Jerry Garcia died people called him another dead doper and a dirt bag. Critics had said people (like him) should be prosecuted and put away. I'm wondering if (Limbaugh) changed his mind on that.
SPM: In the past few years, ASU has had sort of an unbalanced group of speakers come to campus. We've had Ann Coulter, David Horowitz and Daniel Pipes. Do you think it's important for students to be exposed to a diverse group of on-campus speakers?
Franken: I think it's good to have different viewpoints, but I think students have to think critically about whoever is speaking.
Reach the reporter at joy.hepp@asu.edu.
