Al Franken's "apology"

[Friar]

I suspect the right will seize on this as an example of leftie hyprocrisy, or something, but if you read this you'll see it was a satire gone a little over the edge. I was first taken aback but after this I think it's a red herring. Agreed? Or was Franken a total idiot?

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/frankenabs1.html

[Fixated]

1. ....

Almost certainly satire, but it seems like a Franken inside joke.

[unblock]

2. i'm sure the apology

was more directed to the center/harvard/kennedy school than to ashcroft.

in any event the letter itself was just a simple tweak at a prude. nothing "over the edge" here, though not especially funny either. hey, you can't hit homers every at bat....

let's also keep in mind that those on the right accuse us of all manner of horrible, so, well, f*ck 'em if they can't take a joke.

[ScotTissue]

3. He apologized because....

He used the letterhead of his employer to pass off his satire. No big whoop, except for that he was trading on the authority of an education institution that was probably employing him to do other things than piss off spank happy Repukelickassicans.

Be brilliant on your own dime, n'est-ce pas?

Having said all this, it is good that he apologized. Otherwise, the issue would be held above his geek neck at every forum he attended like the friggin' sword of Fox News Damocles.

[donco6]

9. Repukelickassicans?

HAHAHAHA - that's a new one to me - but worth remembering.

[yellowcanine]

4. I actually thought it was pretty funny

Shows how warped I am, I guess. Imagine if Asscraft had answered him! Shit, now that's funny! Surely this would be a good project for the Onion - write Asscraft's response.

[CarlBallard]

5. No kidding

I especially liked the end, "I hope you can find the time to inspire the next generation of sex-free leaders."

[Merlin]

7. Good catch. Loved it too. n/t

.

[JackSwift]

6. Really bad judgment Al

you don't use letterhead for an unauthorized purpose. In the big scheme of things this will probably blow over, but you can bet they will try to crucify him over this.

[Friar]

8. and he admits

He wasn't authorized to use that letterhead. I think it was a big mistake but at least he did apologize and it was obviously meant as satire. Still, I think Franken is too important a spokesman for us that, like Moore, any faux pas has an elevated status.

[Yupster]

10. Especially if

you just wrote a book all about liars.