Speaking of kooks:

Franken to announce Senate intentions today

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Radio-show host and comedian Al Franken intends to
announce today whether he'll run for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat in
2006.

The seat is being vacated by Democrat Mark Dayton, who announced Wednesday
that he will not seek election to a second term.

Franken's announcement comes as a number of other contenders emerged,
including U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, R-Minn., who plans to announce his
candidacy on Friday, sources close to Kennedy said.

Former Sen. Rod Grams, a Republican, said he is definitely running for the
seat, but he said he will not make a formal announcement until later. State
House Majority Leader Erik Paulsen, R-Eden Prairie, said he is seriously
considering a run for the seat.

Franken plans to make an announcement on his radio show at 2:45 p.m. eastern
time. His producer would not give any indication of what Franken will say,
only that he made a decision.

"He's decided," said Billy Kimball, Franken's producer. "He's going to say
what he decided today. But I can't preview it for you one way or the other."

Franken normally broadcasts his Air America talk show from New York, but he
is in Washington today.

Franken, a Minnesota native, announced last year that he was considering
running against Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in 2008.

On his radio show on Wednesday, Franken joked about the Dayton vacancy,
discounting a possible run. Acknowledging that he had given some thought to
a run in 2008, he said his responsibilities with his new radio show required
his full attention and probably precluded a run for Dayton's empty seat.

Dayton withdrew from the race after he decided he would not be the best
candidate for DFLers this year. He was having difficulty raising money, and
his approval rating had declined to 43 percent in a Star Tribune Minnesota
Poll.

Some analysts said his decision improves Democratic chances of keeping the
seat.

"I do think this helps the Democrats," said Jennifer Duffy, the Senate
editor of the Cook Political Report in Washington. "The field's going to be
level for them. With Dayton in the race, it was tilted against them."

Dayton's popularity took a big hit when he decided to temporarily close his
Washington office last fall, fearing a possible terrorist strike against the
Capitol. Democrats and Republicans alike were shocked by Dayton's decision
to leave Capitol Hill for good.

"Senator Dayton has surprised us in so many ways," said Rep. John Kline,
R-Minn. "We were certainly all surprised when he was one of 535 members of
Congress to shut his office down. I couldn't explain that, and I can't
really explain this."

In article ,
"MnMikew" wrote:

Speaking of kooks:

Franken to announce Senate intentions today

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Radio-show host and comedian Al Franken intends to
announce today whether he'll run for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat in
2006.

Snip

The main problem I have with Franken is that he is boring instead of
funny.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California