Al Franken Ahead by 48 Votes and Why We Need Him

Last Thursday my daughter pulled me away from my computer and announced that I was taking myself far too seriously. She seized control of my laptop, went to NetFlix.com (I didn't know that members can download television episodes directly onto a computer and watch), and downloaded the first episode of the first season of "30 Rock."

She made me watch it.

As soon as Alec Baldwin appeared as "Jack," the pompous executive in charge of programming at NBC, promoted out of the microwave oven division, I was hooked. Yes, Tina Fey was funny mocking Sarah Palin, yes, the writing on SNL improved under her direction, but she is brilliant as the creator and writer for "30 Rock."

Thursday, Friday, and Sunday I watched the entire first season, that's twenty episodes, and began the second last night.

Despite Bernie Madoff, the sinking economy, the quarterly statement from my retirement fund, the state of my body, the dreadful cold and wind, all of the revelations about just how incompetent and corrupt the Bush administration has been, I was able to laugh with Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, and Tracy Morgan.

Which leads me to say that we need Al Franken to be the Senator from Minnesota. I was heartened today to see that he was leading the recount by 48 votes, even without the challenged 1600 absentee ballots.

We need Al Franken because we need to laugh during these difficult times, and frankly, Al has a great sense of humor.

When he was on Air America in the afternoon, I would purposefully run errands for work just to listen. Actually I would listen by streaming the show through my computer often. Twice I've gone to Praire Home Companion shows, because Al was performing upon his return from a USO tour in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He was wrong about the invasion of Iraq. But he apologized. He admitted he was wrong. And he did it with a great sense of humor.

And like Jon Stewart, whose hiatus along with Stephen Colbert's is now being soothed by my new obsession with 30 Rock, Al can interview someone with opposing views and not be insulting.

We've had actors, wrestlers, bodybuilders in politics. Why not a comedian? Good luck, Al. Our family donated to his recount campaign, a modest contribution, but some thing to help out with all of these legal fees.