Al Franken Interviewed On "Today Show" About Coming To The Senate (VIDEO)

Asked by Meredith Vieira on the "Today Show" if it was difficult to ignore his penchant for speaking out and keep a low-profile while the recount and appeals processes in Minnesota dragged on, Senator-elect Al Franken replied, "Fortunately I lost my sense of humor right away. (laughing) So I didn't have a problem... Minnesota has a real process here. Minnesotans should be proud of our process. It's thorough; we can say that. It's transparent. And our election officials acted with incredible integrity. "

Reflecting on the extraordinarily close result of the election (out of 2.9 million votes cast, Franken won by a margin of 312 votes), he acknowledged that he's "very conscious" of that fact and realizes a lot of Minnesotans didn't vote for him.

Franken reiterated that he doesn't see himself as the 60th Democratic senator but rather as the second senator from Minnesota.

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Comments

[Caymus77]

Al is having the last laugh about Peabody Award winning Bill O'Reilly.

[rich misty]

Al will wear GOP hatred like a flag pin. It's a badge of honor. Americans should be very, very proud of this man.

[JohnnyKong]

A real personality in the senate. I can't wait to see video of heated debates on the senate floor.

[myersms]

People are going to sit up and take notice of this "CLOWN" he's not the Washington Institutional type and he's there to push the public agenda,not the lobbiest.I think he is going to be a breath of fresh air in this ordinarily stale air town.I wish him the very best of luck.

[JohnSawyer]

Yep. Refreshing change from elected representatives who pretend to be serious in their jobs, but turn out to be clowns--instead, we have someone who worked as an actual clown, who turns out to be serious in their new job.

[Ohsherri]

Watching the Repubs move ...to the mhental !nst!tuion.
And a lot of Dems bending over for them...

Ya...I'd lose my sense of humour too.
What a downer to have to watch it up close.

AL is a lone "man-of-the-peeps".

[Dailykook]

Its a far cry from being the class clown.

[SusanStoHelit]

He's a clown with class.

[booboo111]

Once he's seated, you'll see the real Al Franken, the 60th democrat. The repugnantcans h-a-t-e- him.

[sparky73]

I never found him very funny actually. I liked when he played that queer guy on Saturday Night Live...that was OK. I'm excited he is in the Senate. He will do a great job.

[hapiguy]

Hope not!,,only way to deal with the devil,,,is be mean...and kick,,,b....

[rubberneck]

Has he lost his mean streak?

[LeeCalif]

Don't be so sensitive.

[nk007]

He never had one. The same could not be said of the wingnut Inhoffe, probably the most mean Senator in the chamber.

[plaidsportcoat]

I never once heard Norm Coleman give a nod to the half of the state that didn't vote for HIM! Why the heck does Franken have to be so magnanimous?

[notyouraveragebear]

Because he's a better man than Coleman

[OhPuhleeze]

Just acknowledging the live voters.

[biotechwoman]

Because people who have personal integrity rise above the sort of behavior exhibited by Norm Coleman and the GOP at large. Fortunately the American public elect politicians worthy of office. And Norm was not worthy. Never was, never will be.

[real1234]

Speaking of Coleman, where was his wife at the last news conference ?

[OlongapoEd]

Hiking the Appalachian Trail! (Or are only males allowed to do that?)

[booboo111]

Wait till he's seated, you won't see any magnanamy.

[StonyStoner]

Mendacity, you won't see any mendacity.

You were close.

[ondamony]

Im going to miss Al writing books. I hope he calls them out the same as he did in his books.

[conservativesscareme]

Oh, Al, you will most definitely need that great sense of humor you have to work with the obstructionist GOP trying to clean up this terrible massive mess left behind by them.

[tlgeiger62]

Good luck to you Al!!

[rulintheroost]

Al goes in with a huge mandate. Even though he won by a small margin, now millions who voted against him support him. At least 85 percent of Minnesotans love Al.

[freethinkergirl]

So do we!!! You lucky Minnesotans, you just got yourself one intelligent man who cares for you, were jealous!!

[BobsNotWorking]

Double jealous down here in Texas! Triple actually!