So my old friend Al Franken has officially announced that he's running for the United States Senate in Minnesota. See his terrific announcement video here.
This is great news. Al is smart, passionate, a terrific public speaker, and dedicated to carrying on the progressive ideals of his political hero -- and mine -- Paul Wellstone. What's more, as Frank Rich notes, Al getting into the race has already caused Norm Coleman to start running away from his rubber-stamp support of the White House on Iraq.
Which is why I'm so worried that I could possibly have a negative impact on Al's campaign.
I know that we live in the era of Gotcha Politics, a time when campaign opp research teams dig as furiously as they can, searching for even the slightest hint of personal indiscretion in their opponent's past that can be used in attack ads.
So, figuring that the truth will eventually come out, I've decided to come clean about me and Al. Better that it comes from me, rather than from Coleman or Al's Democratic rivals.
You see, back in the mid-90s, Al Franken and I shared a bed. Repeatedly. While we were both married. And, long before Pam and Tommy Lee or Paris Hilton, we always made sure we had a camera to record our liaisons.
Shocking but true. What can I say, we were young, we were passionate, and there was something between us that couldn't be denied. And the fact that it was being recorded for posterity only added to the frisson.
But the past has a way of bubbling up at the most opportune moment-- and ending up on YouTube. So I'm going to beat the Gotcha Gang to the punch and preemptively release the videos here and now... and hope the people of Minnesota will be able to look past them (as Al's wife Franni has). It would kill me if these videos were to become Al Franken's Macaca Moment.
P.S. Keep in mind, these were shot over a decade ago, so please forgive my hair... and my views. But I still have the lingerie!
P.P.S. If you want to see more, click here.