Franken Mocks Right Wing

Everything from U.S. policies in Iraq to President Bush’s eyebrow gestures came under fire from comedian and political satirist Al Franken ’73 last night.

Franken, who titled his speech “Democracy in the Age of Dubya,” directed the majority of his jabs at Bush and the right wing in a talk before an audience of over 600 at the First Parish Church.

In a talk that mixed serious political discussion with comedy—a mixture that has made Franken famous—he said Bush lied about why the U.S. went to war in Iraq.

“It’s one thing to lie about your sex life,” Franken said. “It’s another thing to lie about sending men and women into harm’s way.”

Mocking the color-coded terror alert system, Franken referred to orange—the second-highest alert level—as “the highest level at which we are encouraged to go to the mall.”

“At red the President would encourage you to shop online,” he said.

Nor did he spare Bush in his appraisal of the President’s domestic policies.

“When Bush said back in the 2000 elections he was against nation-building, I didn’t realize he was talking about our nation,” he said.

Franken also commented on the recent lawsuit against his new book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. The suit was initiated by Fox News Channel, who wanted “fair and balanced”—their trademark phrase—removed from the cover. The case was ultimately dismissed, and Franken said the presiding judge called the suit “wholly without merit, both legally and factually.”

Franken said Fox should consider rewording its catchphrase to say: “Fox News Channel: wholly without merit.”

Franken also directed his wit at Fox’s conservative political commentators, calling Bill O’Reilly an “obnoxious bully” and a “pathological liar.”

Following his speech, Franken took questions from the audience, which ranged from lengthy queries about the upcoming presidential elections to an audience member’s request for the former Saturday Night Live actor and writer to give her a hug.

Franken complied with the request.

Maria Giacoma, an audience member who was visiting from Atlanta, Georgia, said that seeing Franken was “a real treat.”

She said she bought a second copy of his book so that she could get his autograph.

The event was widely publicized, and people lined the sidewalk of Church Street to get in more than an hour before the speech began. Hundreds were turned away.

Franken, who is currently on a book tour promoting his new release, was the College’s Class Day speaker in 2002 and served last year as a fellow at the Kennedy School of Government’s Shorenstein Center.