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MPR News Staff

Is Sen. Al Franken the logical choice for vice president?

Go Deeper.

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Sen. Al Franken at press conference.
Sen. Al Franken speaks at a press conference in 2014, in front of his house in Minneapolis.
Yi-Chin Lee for MPR News

"This is not a joke. Senator Al Franken should be the Democratic Party's choice for vice president."

That's the beginning of "The Case for Vice President Al Franken," an article published yesterday on Politico. In it, Bill Scher makes a lengthy case for why the comedy writer-turned-senator is the only logical choice in the upcoming election.

Scher joined MPR New host Tom Weber to explain his theory, and why this unique election calls for a unique choice.

"This scenario assumes that it will be Clinton vs. Trump, which is what all signs point to right now," Scher said. "If Hillary is the Democratic nominee, she has to keep Bernie supporters from snubbing her and going Green Party, a la 2000 and Ralph Nader."

"She's ahead of Trump in the polls right now, but there's a concern that he would make a good run in the Midwest for the white working class. She needs someone who could help shore up her support there. And if you're going up against Trump, you're going into a madhouse, an unpredictable circus where you're batting back taunts and insults that you never would have imagined happening in a general election."

Scher argues that Franken's experience in the comedy world will be particularly effective in keeping up with the pace of Trump's accusations.

"Al Franken is perfectly designed to deal with the madhouse that Trump creates. He can puncture his coarseness with more high-brow wit."

That said, it's only because of Trump that Scher is proposing Franken at all.

"I would not make this suggestion if it wasn't Trump," Scher said, acknowledging that Franken has received criticism in the past for some of his off-color humor. In 2008, state representative Betty McCollum called out Franken for a column he wrote in "Playboy" in 2000.

But in this election, "you're going to bring up a 'Playboy' article he wrote in 2000, when Trump has said 10,000 offensive things in the last week?" Scher asked. "It's not going to work."

On his part, Franken responded to the recent buzz with an emailed statement, saying: "It's incredibly flattering to be mentioned, but I love the job I have now representing the people of Minnesota.

For the full discussion on Senator Al Franken and the vice presidency, use the audio player above.