It's Official: A Comedian is in Congress

I don't have much to say on this issue, because it's been all over 24-hour cable news punditland, but after about eight months in post-election purgatory it appears that Al Franken is finally the senator from Minnesota.

Franken, of course, is a former writer for Saturday Night Live and half of the legendary comedy team of Franken and Davis. He made friends with a gorilla in Trading Places. He would strap a satellite dish to his head during "Weekend Update" and later published funny, left-leaning political comedy books like Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot (funny because it's true) and Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. He hosted The O'Franken Factor on the failed experiment that was Air America and created/starred on the failed experiment that was Lateline. Of course, most people remember Franken as his self-help character, Stuart "I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough and Doggone It People Like Me" Smalley; he even got his own film, Stuart Saves His Family in 1995. As movies based on Saturday Night Live sketches go, it's not that bad. And now he is a United States senator making important decisions at one of the most critical periods in the last 30 years.

I could obviously make all kinds of jokes about the clowns in Congress, but I won't. Because now there really is a clown in Congress. From a personal and professional standpoint, I'm happy about the news. Now we'll have to see how Franken does in his new role. Will he wear his satellite dish on the floor of the Senate?

If you want to hear Franken's response to the long-awaited decision, you can check out the statement he delivered Tuesday.

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