Michael Kinsley: Al Franken's Quandary

The Minnesota Senate candidate has been telling jokes for 30 years. How does he explain away the bad ones?

By Michael Kinsley
Posted Monday, July 7, 2008, at 11:56 AM ET

Americans say they want to be represented by "real people" and not by "professional politicians." But with their votes, they reward professionalism and drain the reality from politics. Real people haven't spent their lives plotting a political career, and therefore real people may have said things from time to time that an aspiring politician would not. Departures from the official script are called gaffes. This election year, the script has been more important than ever. Despite the Iraq war, despite the sinking economy, despite the price of gasoline, we have frittered away our politics in a round robin of gaffes, mock indignation, demands for apology, and more gaffes.