The Maverick Tribe

For the record:  in the race for U.S. Senator from Minnesota - Al Franken vs. Norm Coleman - the Mavericktribe endorses Franken.  And why wouldn't we?  He's a fair-minded, smart, and perceptive man, who is genuinely passionate about public policy and progressive causes.  He also happens to be a comedian.  Or, more precisely, a political satirist.  And he's been tossing out sometimes raunchy humor for around thirty years, yielding a treasure trove of material his opposition can use against him.  As usual, Michael Kinsley, the best opinion writer alive today, best frames Franken's dilemma:

Franken (a slight but friendly acquaintance of mine) is in a quandary. He can't stop his campaign to defend every joke he's ever written that someone now finds offensive, or pretends to. Trying to explain a joke is notoriously pointless anyway. But Franken also can't let his opponent create the impression that he is some kind of sexist monster, rather than the long-married, deeply uxorious family man that he is, with the progressive views on abortion choice and related issues that you would expect from a Democratic liberal. If the voters of Minnesota would rather be represented by a hack like Norm Coleman than laugh off a few jokes that didn't work, then they should stop complaining about being stuck with professional politicians. And the real joke will be on them.

I'm beginning to understand that voting is one of the many practices in American life that remains unleavened by self-awareness.  Americans say they want honest politicians, and then vote for the scheming liar.  They want their politicians to be straight with them, and then rally around the sugarcoaters, the window dressers, and the pussyfooters.  In 2000 and 2004 they elected a recovering alcoholic - it was he they'd rather have a beer with, after all.  That's right, they want a regular guy, an average Joe, but wait a minute... Al Franken?   Please, no coarse and/or sexist humor.  (Which begs the question:  what do regular guys talk about over their beers if not tit-and-ass jokes?)

Americans claim to want leaders who are courageous, unpolished, and authentic.  Don't believe them - it's a trap.