CNN

[...] SOTOMAYOR HEARINGS CONTINUE Yesterday's highlights: the nominee following the senators' epic opening statements with a 7-minute intro, and Lindsay Graham admitting that barring a "meltdown," Sotomayor will be confirmed. Plus: Sen. Franken's first day in the national spotlight. [...]

RE: southerncousin
Here in Minnesota you can register to vote on election day at the polling place. Some counties are slow in adding their new registrations so that is how there are more votes than registered voters.

Show them what a great senator you will be. With you all the way.

Go Franken! it was nice to see and hear you at the hearing on Sotomayor today.

He's going to be great. God blessed America last week.

For all of the right-wing screaming about this guy being a rampant liberal who will tip the scales pf power in favor of super-awesome-liberal-destruction, his first public showing as a senator sure seemed pretty sensible to me.

Silly partisans, your tricks are for kids.

Independent... it's the new sane.

wow the radical right is full of snarky mean spirited obnoxious rude people... this is your values?? your simply not nice!
I LIKE AL, HE'S SMART! instead of picking our politicians by a few (phony) social button issues lets hire smart people like this.
yat to go al!

Such sour grapes from the Republicans on this message board!!! Good Luck Mr. Franken because you are: smart enough, good enough, and gosh darn it people like you!!

He will be a great senator!!

I love Al Franken. Period.

The real clown from Minnesota is Rep. Michelle Bachmann. I think Senator Franken will do a great job for Minnesotans. As a resident of Texas, not a Texan, I wish he were one of our senators.
Hutchison and Cornyn are as big of a joke as Bachmann.

FRANKEN? This is a joke, RIGHT???

Franken should find out from his senior advisors how to sober up before he gives a speech. His words were so slurred it reminded me of Mayor Marion Barry. What a joke, not what he said..rather..what he is!

Franken should find out from his senior advisors how to sober up before he gives a speech. His words were so slurred it reminded me of Mayor Marion Barry. What a joke, not what he said..rather..what he is!

Frankenstein is joke, just as the groid empty suit

People calling conservatives HATERS .........please read your own comments. I rest my case.

Chubby writes:
He has failed at every job he has been accepted for and now he is a part of the three ring circus of obama. More change we can believe in. 2010 and 2012 cannot get here fast enough.

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Chubby, I don't know what you read about Franklin, possibly Fox News again. Franken is going to do a good job. Honestly, the republican faux fas crap needs to stop. 2010 and '12 will not be fast enough for the bible-bashing GOPs, possibly a new party will come in and take their place. I'm an Independent, a normal Christian! Get with it! Let Franken do his job.

For the naysayers out there you should know that comedians are among the most intelligent people around. They have made a living out of studying human nature – how we think, behave and act. And in fact, as is often warranted they make fun of the stupid, illogical things we do. This is a gift of critical observation and thinking and what we need at this time...as (miss him so) George Carlin would say, "LESS STUPID PEOPLE".

Franken is not an "AVERAGE" citizen, he is a millionaire celebrity clown. His resume does include a FAILED liberal talk show in CALIFORNIA, because liberalism is illogical and no one wants to listen to it and because it cant be defended.
Franken is another pompous lib who thinks he knows best how YOU should spend your money and LOVES POWER!!!

do your thing, listening to them will not help, they got themselves in all kinds of mess and what we need is for new comers TO NOT LISTEN TO THEM

Franken is a smart fellow, he will do well as a Senator. He's got a bright future, though I don't think he's POTUS material.

those of you making derogatory statements about franekn – implying he is a 'clown' and an 'idiot' and doesn't write his own speeches – you are in for a shock. You obviously don't know AL Franken. He is one of the most politically savvy senators we've had in a long time. You right-wing dittodorks can go on blathering talking points all you want. Time will prove that Franken is the real thing.

@ Bob in PA, who asked "Could he have duped us all ?"

I don't think so. See, the difference between him and one of the foot-stomping tantrum-throwing GOPers is that he meant what he said...it wasn't just cover and code for "I'm going to do everything I can to paint you as a racist and a bench legislator."

A conscientious elected official? How sweet it is!

Amazing how crazy conservatives refer to Franken as a clown, yet, adore that clown up in Alaska, who can't even utter a complete sentence.

Oh, let's not forget W

Amazing how crazy conservatives refer to Franken as a clown, yet, adore that clown up in Alaska, who can't even utter a complete sentence.

As expected AL Franken can not speak intelligently. Every Minnesotan must be so proud of Stuart Smally.

Oh come on Al, you've been calling these idiots for years. Don't suck up to the woodwork.

sig, do you know a lot about Minnesota, you seem like the judgemental type, so let me just say to you, your ignorance is overwhelming, you should be so lucky to live in MN.

Senator Franken is a very bright man. Why don't you give him more than a day in office before you start bashing him?

This guy is really honest i will support this man to keep out country fair

I think Al Franken will be a good Senator. I find it interesting that he's on the Judiciary Committee. He wrote the hilarious SNL skit that mocked the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. You may remember Dana Carvey as Strom Thurman, ranting about how "women don't like that hard core pornography."

We have a joke as vice-president and a bigger joke now in the senate. The democrats will do whatever to get their 60 votes.

Ryan July 13th, 2009 5:28 pm ET

Much like the rest of congress, Franken in office is simply a big joke.

Bill July 13th, 2009 5:27 pm ET

Oh Franken, you have alot to learn just like your clueless leader Obamar…

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Didn't think it would take long for the Fox News dogs to come in here.

Congrats to Sen Franken, I'm sure he will serve well. Also, I like that he chose the Employee Free Choice Act as his first legislation to sponsor. Senator Franken will have a very successful and long career.

Sounds like a winner. We need all the help we could get. And his since of humor should help keep him grounded. I hope he serves our country well.

We already had a large number of comedians in congress, this idiot fits right in with the others. Lord help us Americans

I would say the whole state of Minnesota has a lot to learn. What a loser state.

You know, his spoken words

"I want to learn what you think is the proper relationship between Congress and the courts, between Congress and the Executive. I want to learn how you go about weighing the rights of the individual . . . . and more powerful interests. And I want to hear your views on judicial restraint and activism,"

almost sound more like what a conservative would ask this woman.
Could he have duped us all ?

The one very good thing about Senator Franken is he has not been bought by any lobbyist. He is going to be a great US Senator and someone MN will be very proud of.

Who wrote that for him?

This is a great country. One day you're a clown, the next day you're confirming a Supreme Court Justice.

Besides, clown, we've already witness how she goes weighing the rights of the individual. Just ask the fire fighters.

Maybe he should ask here how she would have ruled in his election.

Regardless of what he did before, I like him because he is what a Senator is SUPPOSED to be. An Average citizen working for the common good... not a career politician working to get himself re-elected. (when I say average, I mean non-politician)

Personally, I think there should be a cap on how many times a senator can run, similar to how the president can only serve two terms. It helps keep a limit on the amount of influence and corruption can be obtained by one or many people.

What more can we expect from the folks who elected Jesse Ventura or a nation that actually gives credibility to Oprah Winfrey...we have lost all sense of direction.

Franken just blows me away with his grace and humility. He is a fine example for a U.S. Senator who is well on his way to being a wise statesman and policy force. He obviously doesn't need a job unlike so many politicians who serve themselves instead of the public.

Sounds like he's off to a good start.

I hope he goes with his natural inclination to toss in a sarcastic crack or two now and then. It injects a bit of humanity, and humor often speaks to the truth.

But really, I doubt Franken could be funnier than some of the comments of his critics below. They're hysterically hysterical.

Did he say anything about how more people voted in Minnesota than were registered or how he won those votes? Probably not, he is a liberal democrat.

Haters will continue to do what they do best, which is to "hate". However, Mr Franken will make a great senator.

I have tried to look at the blogs on several occasions and on several issues but a lot of what I read just adds up to nastiness – think I will stick to PBS.

I also like this guy. If you've read any of his books, then you'd know that he's a smart guy.

Just because he made his living being funny doesn't mean he's stupid. If you want to stereotype, let's talk about "dumb jocks" – Heath Shuler, Steve Largent, Jack Kemp, JC Watts...Oh? they're not dumb? But they were jocks, so they MUST be dumb, right? Oh. That's a stereotype. Oh gee, well maybe Al Franken, Harvard-educated as he is, might be ok too. Maybe the stupid people are the ones who insist that because someone's smart enough to be funny he's too dumb to be in Congress.

As a comedy writer he has had great training for office. After all who can twist words for their own advantage more than a politician or a comic?

God Bless Al, lets hope he dousn't learn any bad habits from the GOp.

Senator Franken spoke the truth and that is, He has a lot to learn. Contrary to republicans, who after years in office, hasn't seemed to learn much or could care less about the rule of law and how it affects their office.

this guy has some great ideas and some not so great ones but overall i think he will suprise all of us

If he expects to learn something "from each of you", geez, we're in trouble! Is there an honest one?

What's going on today? Awful lot of Republicans at home or hitting the keys from work. I don't usually see quite this much comment from the far right on here.

Eh not too many congressman that do not have a lot to learn.

He has failed at every job he has been accepted for and now he is a part of the three ring circus of obama. More change we can believe in. 2010 and 2012 cannot get here fast enough.

Bruce.. look in the mirror for grease paint

Franken is going to be great. A solid athlete in high school, a math whiz in college (Harvard I think) and then a succesful entertainer, book writer and major USO supporter and performer. In other words, smart, hard working, regular guy who isn't afraid of a fight (verbal or otherwise) more than I can say for you or I as we sit behind our computers and call people names.

He tries to get serious and talk the talk, but deep down he is a bigoted clown who ranted on the Air America network (I think they had a listening audience of 3 people, me not being one of those three).

What is this Country coming? He joins a long list of unqualified Senators and Congressmen from both sides of the isle.

Well said Senator!

Al, did we hear it right that you are a math graduate from Harvard? You should do just fine unless something about you pops and hit the headlines. Learn as fast as you can, and make the Dems happy.

So was this Franken'spportunity to psoture and pontificate? Doesn't he realize everyone, including Democrats think he is a clown???

If Franken wants to make himself look and act like a senator then he needs to question how the supreme court justice will base her rulings. I could care less about her life story; a good one I'm sure but her life story will not be making rulings on the court; she herself will and that should be the issue here; nothing else.

Much like the rest of congress, Franken in office is simply a big joke.

Oh Franken, you have alot to learn just like your clueless leader Obamar...

"I know I have a lot to learn from each of you,' Franken says"

Now if that's not an understatement I don't what is.

sure he does. let's just hope that he avoids learning their bad habits. if franken wants to make a difference, he needs to learn how not to simply be a part of the pack.

Sen. Franken's first comments on the job speaks the truth.

I like this guy.