Franken a Big Draw in St. Louis Park

At a rally in St. Louis Park on Saturday, entertainer and U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken drew more than a thousand people to hear him speak about accountability and faith in government and crack a few jokes along the way.

Franken’s campaign team joined in the humor as well:  the stage at the junior-high school that Franken once attended was adorned with poster-sized pictures of the candidate in seventh grade.

Franken staffer Andy Barr, when asked how this campaign was progressing differently from past campaigns, said, “[i]t’s really early to be where we are, I think…you have to start early with someone like Al, because people don’t know him as a candidate yet…this is not Kinky Friedman, this is not a joke, he [Franken] wants to serve.”  (Listen to Barr’s full comments here)

At a post-rally press event, Franken emphasized his commitment to the race and talked about the difference between campaigning for others and for himself:  “Being a candidate is extremely different from being a performer — when you’re a candidate people have the right to understand that you take this very seriously, and I do….I’m going to be talking about issues that matter to people, and framing them in a way I think people can relate to.”

With 20 months plus one day until Election Day 2008, there seems to be plenty of time to get voters to relate.  One thing is for certain already, however:  whether they’re relating or not, plenty of Minnesotans are already listening and watching intently.