Rating: 
Summary: Don't Blame Me. I Voted for Franken.
Review: I received "Why Not Me?" as a birthday gift this past September. Bundled along with it was Paul Begala's "Is Our Children Learning?: The Case Against George W. Bush." I had also asked for Molly Ivins' "Shrub," but no one secured me a copy. Full disclosure: the above is an accurate representation of my personal politics. That having been said, this book almost made me pee my pants. The outlandishness of this book's roller-coaster plot is matched only by that of our presidential politics. We see Al Franken expose the political double-talk that all of our major party candidates use, we are given a crash course in spin control with Al and his motley crew... and we are reminded again and again of something that most of us, in our media-dulled minds, seem to be in a state of denial about: POLITICIANS LIE! All of them. They're people, human beings, with human faults. And Franken pulls his fictional avatar's humanity to the limits with a campaign for president that may have been run by Cheech and Chong (as the campaign diaries read, anyway). Conservatives who attack this book are not attacking this book: they are attacking Al Franken. As a matter of fact, this book is surprisingly tame toward Conservatives. The bulk of the book deals with Al Franken's fictional Democratic primaries. So the target of Franken's wit this time is not Rush Limbaugh, but... *gasp of surprise* Al Gore!! Partisan loyalties aside, I cannot defend all of this book. "Daring to Lead" and the Bob Woodward books were both a little slow. I think that I am in agreement with the bulk of this book's favorable reviewers when I say that the campaign diaries are the real comedic meat of the work. Still, portions of the Woodward book were memorable... Franken's plans to deal with Saddam Hussein come to mind, as well as Press Secretary Howard Fineman's panicked confrontations with members of the media (Franken paints an unbelievably inept picture of Newsweek's Fineman... a charicature which, in the revised edition's afterword, he reinforces by admitting that's how Fineman really is!). I also found the holographic tour of the Franken Library very funny; a nice way to cap off the work. But compared with the pace of the campaign diaries, which were incredibly fun to read and had me clinging to every page, the other sections of the book left me... a bit starved in some parts. All in all, I recommend this book as a good read to anyone and everyone who is embittered by the choices presented to us in the 2000 presidential election. It is fuel for the fires of discontent, and a satire for our times. Kudos, Al! By the puddle on my chair, you've done it again, old boy!
Rating: 
Summary: A Bipartisan Disappointment
Review: The first 50 or so pages of this timely political satire are vintage Franken: The shameless self-promotion mixed with mock piety. The premise is wonderfully absurd (Franken runs for President on the single issue of lowering ATM fees), and Franken presents the material in a variety of formats: Excerpts from his "autobiography" ("The Courage to Dare"), transcripts of political chat shows, and selected material from his speeches and diary. Pages 3-4, for example, include a letter to Chief Justice Rehnquist, asking if he'll appear for a photo for the cover the book. Franken offers to reimburse him for "off-peak train fare," and then asking for free legal advice.But then Franken destroys the readers' trust in his cheeky humor and insight by making himself thoroughly unlikable in the remaining 200-some pages. Rather than posing as the politician you love to hate, candidate Franken is merely a juvenile prankster, puerile and unfunny. The sex and drug jokes, the cheap shots at public figures, and the sexist and other offensive escapades are grade school quality and repetitive. They are so unlikely that-as satire-Franken's implicit commentary on the hypocrisy of politicians and the flaws of the electorate has no wit or insight. Instead, he offers an implausible figure with nowhere to go satirically or as straight-ahead comedy. The net effect is a mostly unfunny ego-trip that quickly loses its initial appeal.
Rating:
Summary: Life's Imitating Art
Review: Another great book from the great political humorist Al Franken. I think the biggest irony we could take from it was that his Vice Presidential nominee is Sen. Joseph Lieberman. I wonder whether in real life, the Gore team read this book when they tried to make their final VP choice, because guess whom they picked? Lieberman. Only in America, sometimes life really imitates art.
Rating: 
Summary: What do you get when you cross a Beavis with a Clinton ?
Review: I was handed this book while waiting for one of those overly delayed flights during the Airline Epidemic of 2000. I was hoping a political satire would make the endless wait endurable. I even thought the concept of the Al Franken's political career, though not unique (Allen Sherman wrote this 20 years ago) was worth a read. Admittedly I found the first 100 pages a bit witty but the humor only lasted for so long. Noting this kind of sophmoric humor can easily be found on thousand of Internet sites. I can only compare it to taking a 10 minute comedy skit and stretching it out for two and half hours. If you get great enjoyment from Beavis and Butthead sprinkled with a healthy dose of liberalism. This is the satire for you.
Rating:
Summary: What should be a bipartisan laugh
Review: While the book lost some steam toward the end, it is still probably the funniest piece of satire I've ever read. The diary works so well, because it seems like an actual diary, complete with sentence fragments as such. It is simply hilarious. For all of you who disliked the book the book as it seems partly because of Franken's politics, get over his last book. Al Gore probably gets lampooned more than any Republican in this book. Maybe it's easier for me since I'm an independent who hates both parties, but put aside your political differences and just enjoy the book for what it is, a great work of satire.
Rating: 
Summary: Very enjoyable
Review: For anyone used to Al Franken's sense of humor, this is a great book. Written from the sense of Mr. Franken actually running for the White House, it follows him through the primaries, general election and beyond. Although it can be bizarre at times (Mr. Franken has that habit) it also provides some interesting insights into the great marathon to the presidency. If you are a serious conservative or die-hard republican you will probably find this book hard to read at best and offensive at worst. For all others, this books' irreverant tone is enjoyable. This is very good political satire, as long as you are not the target.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have For Audio Book Listeners
Review: There are very few books where I would recommend the audio book over the hardcover but this is one. Al Franken and Co. put alot of effort into the audio production of this and I have to say this is the funniest audio book that has ever been made. Frankens comic timing is perfect. I give the book an A the audio book A+.
Rating:
Summary: Franken, we hardly knew ye.
Review: Although I was a Republican before the election, I registered as a Democrat after Ggingrich/Armey won the nomination for the Republicans.I was proud to be the coordinator Al Franken's Louisiana campaign office, and had the thrill of my life when Ii actually had the opportunity to get drunk with Otto Franken and Dan Haggerty when the Franken campaign swung through La. last October.I was at the inaguration and, I'm not ashamed to say, wept while he gave his denounced slavery.However, after his diary was released by Congress,I severed my ties to the Franken White House.As a Catholic, I was deeply offended to read that Mr. Franken refered to us as "SC"s, or "Stupid Catholics".I am not stupid, and neither are the other Catholics that I know.It's even worse when you realize that this is the same man who denounced hatred of any kind in his book "Daring to Lead".After that, I became anti-Franken.Those of you who watched CSPAN during those dark days may remember me as "Bill from Pine's Point La." Yes, I was the guy who organized the 12 million voter march that protested Franken and called for his impeachment while completely screwing D.C. traffic for seven weeks.Yes, I was one of the three thousand that was arrested by the Secret Service on the day of his resignation for egging his limo.Although Franken left me ashamed to be a voter, I think Otto will go down in American history as Billy Carter did(Billy had "Billy Beer" and Otto has "Otto Heroine" which is still popular today, or so I hear.....I never use it).Anyway, you probably see me on television from time to time.It is Otto and I that came up with the idea of the Poon Tang Party, which, I hope, will not remain a "Third" party for very long.I'm the guy you always see nearest to Otto. The one wiping vomit from the front of his suit jacket. As for the book,I think it is the best chronicle of America's best yet worst president.
Rating:
Summary: If only Al would write more often.
Review: This is a very funny look at our highest office. I was not allowed to read Why Not Me in bed. I'd laugh out loud, waking my wife, every few sentences. During the completely fantastic journey that is the "Making of the Franken Presidency", you'll swear (if you're familiar with Franken) that you can hear Al reading to you. His comedic timing is so precisely calculated, even in print, that 'audible pauses' are 'heard' as you read...and that's...okay. Credit his wife for having a sense of humor about this one. If you've enjoyed Al's work before, pick this up. You'll probably end up feeling like I do: Wishing that Franken's profile was higher.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious
Review: In this deliciously absurd work of self-parody, Al Franken brilliantly lampoons the "political process", American voters, and especially himself. The centerpiece is the campaign diary, and what many readers have seemed to overlook is that the running joke of it is that (as announced on the cover page to that section), in the make-believe reality of the book, the diary was later subpoenaed and published -- imagine New Hampshirites' reaction to his description of them as "a bunch of inbred mouth-breathers" and so on, and so on! With this in mind, it's quite a gas, although like most SNL sketches, it is kind of a one-joke run. The whole thing is as witty and subtle as you'd expect from one of the most adroit comedy writers in recent memory.
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