Roseau Times-Region - "Al Franken leaves them smiling and impressed"
After Al's trip through northwest Minnesota to lay out energy policy a week or two ago, the Roseau Times-Region had a story this weekend about Al's visit to Roseau for a breakfast meet & greet and tour of Roseau's Polaris plant. Former Secretary of Agriculture and Congressman Bob Bergland joined Al for both stops.
From the Times-Region (article not available on-line):
A majority of candidates, for whatever office, seldom mention their spouses except during their acceptance speeches. Not Al Franken, who discussed the issues but personalized his candidacy. "Franni and I are running for the Senate," he said, relating the story of how they had met at a Harvard mixer. Al had been smitten with her. "I asked her to dance, bought her a Ginger Ale and walked her back to her dorm," he said, smiling at the memory. Years later, their daughter, Thomasin, then an elementary student, was given the class assignment to write how her parents had met. Leave it to a kid to make things really interesting, according to Al, who had the crowd roaring. "She wrote, He picked up her at a dance, bought her a drink, and brought her home.'"
Then, it was back to the issues as Al explained that his wife's father, a World War II vet, had been killed in a car accident when she was less than two years old. Her mother was a widow with 5 children, and she was only able to make it on Social Security survivor benefits. "People talk about making it by the bootstraps," he said. "But sometimes, families don't even have boots." There was no punch line coming form the 5-time Emmy Award winner and best-selling author, who spoke about his wife's family in dire straits after the main breadwinner had died. "The government has to give people the boots," he said. That's why I'm a Democrat."
He has been visiting college campuses, meeting with college students who were as young as 11 when the current president first got elected. "They don't know that a president can be articulate or that the government can work," he said, insisting that it's time to change that. "This is a great country," he said. "This is a country that defeated Fascism, rebuilt Europe, and put a man on the moon." He recalled the prestige of President "Ike" Eisenhower, who made a worldwide tour at the end of his 2nd term and was greeted by hundreds of thousands of well-wishers.
He's made 4 tours to Iraq, and a member of the audience asked about those trips, especially to Iraq and Afghanistan. "I get chills just thinking about it," he said. "I don't know what it's like to be shot at or to lose buddies in a war. I'd never had contact with the military, but I am impressed with the military. It means so much to the troops when you're there." He would ask soldiers their hometowns, and they were usually from places he'd never heard of. "I got the message that rural America pays a bigger burden," he said. He recalled meeting one soldier. "It's an honor to meet you," he told the G.I. "No, sir, it's an honor to meet you," said the G.I. "No," insisted Al, "it's my honor and let's call a truce."
He has attended memorial services and been to Army hospitals to visit the wounded. "They are inspiring," he said. He also recalled visiting Kabul, Afghanistan, in December 2006. "It was 25 degrees and most of the troops stood for 4 hours," he said. "Toby Keith sang American Soldier, and I'll never forget the troops singing along." The former high school wrestler got very serious. The troops are important to him. "I will fight that every veteran gets lifetime medical care," he said. "Don't dare touch the VA funds."
Beno Kofstad, 80, a World War II veteran and Warroad resident, was happy to meet the candidate. "I want Al to straighten out the country," he said afterwards. Meanwhile, Al Franken and his small entourage were on their way to East Grand Forks. Reached by cell phone, Mr. Franken recalled the tour of Polaris earlier Friday morning. "I was very impressed with their operation," he said, describing it as very efficient. Just before his phone started fading out, he mentioned that he had enjoyed the meeting at the Roseau Diner. Ammy Johnson, the proprietor of Roseau Diner and Motel, was all smiles afterwards. "Al stayed here last night, and I'm making money," she said. "Big stars stay at small businesses. That's the way we like it."