The Truth (With Jokes): A Conversation With Al Franken

Many comedians are social critics and satirists; fewer are also magnetic radio personalities; and fewer still are Harvard-schooled political activists as well. Al Franken is all of those things, plus the winner of two Grammy and five Emmy awards, and the author of five critically acclaimed and commercially successful books.

Franken's newest title, The Truth (With Jokes) , his first book since Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right (both from Dutton), is currently on numerous bestseller lists, including the Book Sense Hardcover Nonfiction List.

Franken distinguishes himself from many of the other partisan voices in the media through his careful attention to fact checking and context. When he lampoons the comments or actions of George Bush, Dick Cheney, or Tom DeLay, much of the humor derives from the juxtaposition of government officials' apparent inability to recall their previous statements, predictions, or policies.

The Truth (With Jokes) is divided into three sections: "Book One -- The Triumph of Evil," a discussion of how President Bush won the 2004 election through what Franken calls a campaign of "Fears, Smears, and Queers"; Book Two -- Seeds of Collapse," including chapters on the political exploitation of the Terry Schiavo tragedy, various scandals, and alleged incompetence; and "Epilogue -- A Letter to My Grandchildren," a look back at America from 2005 to 2015, when Franken is Senator Franken and the Democrats regain control of the White House and both houses of Congress.

A New York Times Book Review said The Truth was "gloomier, more astringent" than Lies, and that it "has dark circles under its eyes."

BTW spoke to Franken about the book, gloom, and the future of America, by phone, as he traveled by train to some East Coast stops on a long book tour.

BTW: Do you think The Truth, without the jokes, would have sold?

Al Franken: Not as well.

Would you have wanted to write a book without the jokes?

Not really. This is kind of what I do. This book is a little bit more serious ... but not necessarily less humorous.

Is that because you've become more serious or the situation in this country has become more serious?

The situation has become much more serious. There is so much that has gotten worse. I mean a number of things have become clear about Iraq -- how we were misled, in terrible ways -- the stupidity and the tragedy. And then there's the growing disparity between rich and poor. The corruption. The incompetence.

The things that you talk about are very important and not funny at all. With so many people, especially young people, getting their news from TV programs like The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Comedy Central), are they insisting that political commentary and news now be served with humor and irony?

I don't think they are insisting on it. There are certain people who want to be entertained as they take in their information. News is handled in a different way maybe than it was for our parents -- 40 years ago. But there's plenty of nonfiction out there, being sold, that is serious. Like George Packer's book [The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq, FSG], that is enthralling journalism about Iraq. George isn't funny -- at least he's not trying to be funny in his book.

With the 24-hour news cycle and stories breaking every day, is it difficult to write a book, like yours, that will stay current for any length of time? Hurricane Katrina, the indictment of Scooter Libby -- these hadn't happened when the book was published.

All my books are sort of like this. You have to write stuff that means something greater than just the specifics of what you're talking about. In a way my book is prescient. When I wrote the book, there were people who felt the President was competent ... then Katrina hit.

I think [The Truth] addresses a lot of things that now have become more apparent -- like the rampant cronyism, the corruption in the Republican Party. I talk a lot about corruption in Iraq. It's something that hasn't really been investigated because Congress won't do it. Basically congress refuses to do its job.

And to me, that is one of the biggest sins because our troops are dying. Harry Truman called war profiteering treason. It is because of the money that's been essentially stolen [by private corporations] -- our guys and our women are dying -- every cent that should have gone to rebuilding the country -- getting Iraqis to work, getting the electricity and the water up, taking care of sewage. [The war] has alienated the Iraqi people and fueled the insurgency and our men and women are being killed because of it.

You have the experience of several recent trips to Iraq to visit the troops. Is that an unusual thing for comedians, especially those who are anti-war, to do?

I'm going again next month. Others have done it -- Bob Hope started it. Robin Williams, Drew Carey have gone over. The purpose is simply to entertain the troops and to give something to these kids. The kids who are there are the same ages as my kids. It's very gratifying for me.

Are you finding any changes in the people that are showing up at your bookstore appearances?

I'm getting a lot of Republicans showing up. I think a lot of people read Lies who weren't necessarily Democrats. Many of them have an instinctual dislike for the Ann Coulters, the Sean Hannitys, and the Bill O'Reillys and so even though they may be Republican or conservative -- they read the book and said 'Okay -- I get it.' And may not have had their basic view of the world changed, but I think they appreciate what I do.

I think that this book has come out and sort of coincided with Bush's collapse and there are some disgusted Republicans out there, and I'm getting more than just a few of those [at the signings]. Basically they're saying, 'I can't stand it anymore, these people -- or this President -- doesn't represent what I thought being a Republican is about.'

We are all going to have to deal with the war, and spending, and deficits, and the latest budget cuts that they're considering. There's a lot of disgust.

What do you say when people ask you if you're going to run for Senator from Minnesota?

Well, I've said all along that I'm considering it. My wife, Franni, and I are moving back to Minnesota from New York. We're moving very soon, in December or early January.

It's where I grew up, and I'm going to be active politically in this next cycle.

You've built your career around narcissism -- that's been a theme ever since you began on Saturday Night Live in the 1970s. With that history, is it going to be hard to convince people that you are really interested in everyone else's issues?

It's been sort of ironic narcissism -- the deconstruction of narcissism. --Interviewed by Nomi Schwartz.