One significant fact that was apparently missed by both the media and some members of the Senate during Sen. Al Franken’s longer-than-anticipated run for the Senate is that the man is obsessed with policy. As Yglesias recently wrote, “Most comedians probably aren’t very well-informed about policy issues, but comedians do have both the time and the means to inform themselves if they’re so inclined, and Franken very much was and is so inclined.”
And that inclination is bearing out as Franken quickly earns the respect of his colleagues. But one thing that got me was the AP headline. Given that 90 percent of what the Senate does is make policy, why are we congratulating any particular Senator for being interested in it. It shows that the AP greatly underestimates Franken or has come to expect Senators to lack any interest in making policy. If it’s the former, shame on the AP. If it’s the latter, shame on the Senate.
