Video: Al Franken, from "Saturday Night Live" to the Senate

In this week’s issue of the magazine, I profile Senator Al Franken. In the following YouTube clips, arranged chronologically, you can watch how the former “Saturday Night Live” performer honed his political instincts.

Franken and his comedy partner, Tom Davis, appeared on “Late Night with David Letterman” on August 20, 1987. Anyone who doubts Franken’s patriotism—and I suspect some people at Fox News do—should go to the 6:36 mark, where you can see Franken draw a map of the United States, freehand, in less than two minutes. Note that he starts with Minnesota:

This one has nothing to do with politics—it’s Franken as Mick Jagger—but it’s unclear why Norm Coleman didn’t make use of it during the campaign, and it’s only a matter of time before it ends up on Bill O’Reilly’s show):

Speaking of O’Reilly: Incredibly, at BookExpo 2003, in Los Angeles, Franken and O’Reilly awkwardly shared a stage. Franken was promoting “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them,” which has an uproarious, unflattering chapter devoted to O’Reilly. At the 1:57 mark, you can watch and listen to O’Reilly’s response. It involves the words “Shut up!”:

In 2006, the filmmakers Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus made a documentary called “Al Franken: God Spoke.” It’s a remarkable document. Someone has posted almost the entire thing on YouTube, in nine roughly ten-minute segments (for some reason, part four is missing). In part nine, about one minute into the clip, you can see Franken announce his run for the Senate. You can also see O’Reilly’s reaction.

This really is Franken’s fourth-grade teacher in his campaign ad:

And here’s Harry Reid introducing Franken to the Senate. Franken was roundly criticized by many media outlets for being so serious at this press conference. Which is true; Franken makes the almost pathologically boring Reid seem like Carrot Top. See if you can stay awake for the full 5:47:

Now that Franken refuses to be funny, Minnesota has to rely on the comedy stylings of its senior senator, Amy Klobuchar. Here she is earlier this year at the Washington Press Club Foundation’s 65th Annual Congressional Dinner. It’s worth watching in full:

Part 1

Part 2

And here’s Klobuchar making jokes about her own anatomy in front of Barack Obama:

When I interviewed Senator Klobuchar for my piece, we had the following exchange about the use of humor in the Senate:

You’ve been called the funniest senator, but with Franken coming in—

This is going to be very difficult for me. Talk about jurisdictional issues! But the Senate always needs a little more humor. I think there’s a history of senators in very appropriate ways using wit and humor to their advantage, in advancing and advocating for things. Fritz Hollings would be an example. I’ve heard many stories about him; Senator Kennedy in the past has used humor. As long as Franken is—and I think he will be—appropriate in however he uses wit, I’m sure it will be fine and well accepted. But the point is that his challenge, and I believe he’s up to it, is to show that he’s serious about select issues.