Franken Struggles To Grab Obama's Coattails

STILL NO FRANKENBAMA

Many Obama Supporters Not Voting For Stuart Smalley







"It's not alive!"

If Stuart Smalley's political career were a movie, it would not resemble 1931's Frankenstein. That's because the monster he would like to create, a merged version of himself and Barack Obama, can't seem to get off of the operating table.

Yes, our modern- day Frankenstein might in fact be functional, if only somebody could find Obama's misplaced coattails. With the latter likely to carry Minnesota this November, Al needs every one of those voters to support him as well.


(Image by David A Lunde for the Radio Equalizer)


But in a story largely buried during a summer weekend, the former Air America Radio host is apparently having trouble with thousands of voters that normally would be expected to back the alleged funnyman.

From Minnesota Public Radio:

An independent poll shows Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., with a 10 point lead over his DFL-endorsed challenger Al Franken. But that same poll showed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama way ahead of Republican John McCain in Minnesota. That means a significant number of Minnesotans are planning to split their tickets.

St. Paul, Minn. — Cathy Kennedy still calls herself a Republican. She actually served as a press secretary for Republican Gov. Al Quie back in the late 1970s. But this year, she's been inspired by a Democrat.

"For the very first time in my life, I attended a DFL caucus this year to vote for Obama," Kennedy said.


"There is some dissonance in my mind."

- Shane Baker, a likely ticket-splitter


But she hasn't given up on the GOP, yet.

"I think the reason why we're talking is because I did give $25 to the Republican Party for kind of an anti-Franken effort," she added.

Kennedy isn't totally sold on Coleman. But at this point, she's leaning his way, because she doesn't see Franken, who has never held office before, as an acceptable alternative.

She is not alone. Take 24-year-old West St. Paul Democrat Matt Reubendale. He actually volunteered for Obama before the Iowa caucuses.

"[I] went down and door-knocked in some tiny town I can't even remember the name of," he said.

The Los Angeles Times Top Of The Ticket sheds further light on the problem:

In Minnesota, one-term Republican incumbent Norm Coleman led onetime "Saturday Night Live" cast member and writer Al Franken by 10 percentage points, 51% to 41%.

Franken ended up winning the state's Democratic Senate nomination more easily than expected, but during the spring he took flak over back corporate taxes he owed in 17 states and a raunchy article he wrote for Playboy magazine several years ago (when comedy still was his prime occupation).

The new poll found that Franken has not consolidated the Democratic vote in Minnesota as well as Coleman has his GOP base. But the former funnyman's big problem is with independents -- he trailed Coleman among this bloc by 20 percentage points.

Again, what is the appeal of Al Franken as a US Senate candidate? Until his "progressive" supporters can answer that simple question, expect the campaign to continue to stall.


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