~jl;]Jw_;C~~ Campaigning for laughs, could he be President?

by Chris Nielsen perspectives editor

Modern politics often seem to be stranger than fiction. The American people are so fed up with politics as usual that they have elected former pro wrestlers and basketball players to lead the country.

In this unstable climate, it seems that just about anyone could be elected the next President of the United States. In Al Franken's mock documentary, "Why Not Me?" the actor/author/comedian creates a semi-realistic scenario by which he could be elected the leader of "the last great superpower."

This book is obvious satire all the way through, but it is not as far-fetched as it may seem. After all, we are only two presidents removed from having a Hollywood bits on "Saturday Night Live," decides that he is willing and able to be the first Jewish president of the United States. With the help of his alcoholic, sex-addict brother Otto, former Clinton media consultant Dick Morris, and "Grizzly Adams" star Dan Haggerty, Franken goes from underdog to leading Democratic candidates in the 2000 elections. Franken's rise to power comes as the result of a campaign with only one issue on its agenda: ATM fees. Through manipulative commercials and a fortunate computer breakdown, Franken manages to embarrass most of his political opponents. Those that he can't embarrass his brother clubs with a wooden board. loosely based on the President's own brother, Roger Clinton, and the forced release of his diaries is obviously based on the greatest political scandal of our time, the Watergate hearings. many sexual exploits are obviously mocking our current Commander-in-Chief. The character Otto Franken is

The book consists of three sections: the campaign, the presidency and the Epilogue- 50 years from now. Franken manages to be witty all the way through, never veering into anything too sophomoric.

At its best, "Why Not Me?" manages to weave together adultery, cloning, lies and drugs in the making and unmaking of the president. The result is hilarious, and maybe not as unrealistic as we would like to think.

As unfeasible as all of this sounds, much of it is based on real political events of the past few years. Franken's actor who many see as one of our greatest leaders ever. Franken, best known for the "Stuart Smalley" comedy