Al Franken's campaign quandary: how to explain away his bad
jokes.  Policy made plain. July 7 2008 11:56 AM  Al Franken's
Quandary  The Minnesota Senate candidate has been telling jokes
for 30 years. How does he explain away the bad ones?  Al
Franken. Click image to expand.  Americans say they want to be
represented by "real people" and not by "professional
politicians." But with their votes, they reward professionalism
and drain the reality from politics. Real people haven't spent
their lives plotting a political career, and therefore real
people may have said things from time to time that an aspiring
politician would not. Departures from the official script are
called gaffes. This election year, the script has been more
important than ever. Despite the Iraq war, despite the sinking
economy, despite the price of gasoline, we have frittered away
our politics in a round robin of gaffes, mock indignation,
demands for apology, and more gaffes.  The surest way to stumble
into a gaffe is to tell a joke. Jokes are