Al Franken: Why Not Me?: The Inside Story Of The Making And Unmaking Of The Franken Presidency

Al Franken's creative output has never been particularly consistent: His Stuart Smalley character on Saturday Night Live quickly wore out its welcome, and his low-rated, on-again/off-again sitcom (Lateline) is a weak, Murphy Brown-inspired workplace comedy that's dragged down by a parade of winking insider cameos. But Franken's book Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot contained a surprisingly sharp, broad assortment of political satire and commentary, and was a deserving bestseller. It's hard to predict when Franken will hit his mark, which happens only sporadically throughout his engaging but flawed follow-up to Big Fat Idiot, the new Why Not Me?: The Inside Story Of The Making And Unmaking Of The Franken Presidency. As its title indicates, the book documents Franken's unlikely ascent to the nation's highest office—thanks to a blundering but lucky campaign built around his opposition to ATM fees—as well as his precipitous political downfall. Franken gets in some nice jabs and good gags (his presidency is troubled from the outset, as, in his inaugural address, he apologizes for slavery using quotes from Mandingo), and his story is illustrated with photos, campaign notes, a lengthy diary segment, and a ton of fake news stories. But Why Not Me? gets bogged down in inside jokes about his friends and family, especially during the endless series of predictable diary entries, and Franken spends more time making fun of himself and his pals than going after juicier satirical targets. There are enough inspired throwaway gags (the cover of Bob Woodward's tell-all account of the Franken Presidency's first 100 days; an anti-Gore, anti-ATM-fee editorial cartoon; a diplomatic faux pas in which Franken punches Nelson Mandela in the stomach) to make Why Not Me? breezy and readable overall. But, like much of Franken's high-profile work, it's still too scattershot to be the satirical home run it might have been.