Lawrence O’Donnell To Michael Steele: Should Christine O’Donnell Be ‘Privy To Classified Information?’

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by Colby Hall | 7:59 am, October 6th, 2010

» 46 comments

It’s been less than two weeks but Lawrence O’Donnell continues to make a compelling and entertaining program (and his ratings seem to suggest that more people are tuning in.) Perhaps more interesting is his demonstration of how a political debate can be both civil and spirited, as was the case last night when RNC chairman Michael Steele joined the program to discuss the current political landscape, the minimum wage and Christine O’Donnell‘s claim of knowing classified information.

O’Donnell was tough but fair in addressing some of the more interesting political issues of the day with Mr. Steele, who clearly was not offended by any ‘gotcha!’ type questions, evidenced by number of times he told the TV host “you’re funny.” The lengthy interview was bookended by two of the more interesting moments, opening with a discussion of the GOP’s policy towards the minimum wage and ending on Christine O’Donnell’s assertion that she had classified information about a Chinese plot to take over the United States.

Steele did not take the bait, but the political differences between Mr. O’Donnell and Mr. Steele could not have been clearer, though in an entertaining and respectful way.

ON THE MINIMUM WAGE:

O’DONNELL: Now you’ve said that the Republican Party and the Tea Party are ‘locked hand-in-hand’—that’s your phrase—and you have a Republican nominee for Senate in Alaska who says the minimum wage is unconstitutional. So is that now your position, Republican Party position, that the minimum wage is unconstitutional?

Steele: [Laughing] What I meant by that phrase is I think around the issues that we’re fighting over this November and the debate that the nation has had about jobs and the economy, we are working together, we have a common interest and a common goal to put a fiscal discipline in place. Every candidate comes to the table with their own particular set of issues that they want to speak to the people of their state or their district about—that’s what they’re allowed to do. It doesn’t necessarily translate that that’s the position of every Republican in the United States. I know a lot of folks on the left in particular want to make that leap of faith for them but the truth is, it doesn’t translate that way. The reality of it is that the Tea Party is an organic movement out there of citizens who are concerned about the direction that the nation is going. Republicans of all stripes are also concerned, so I wanted to make it very clear that with respect to those common interests on those issues, let’s work together and let’s move forward together to defeat what we think is an aggressive agenda by government to take over big businesses and the affairs of individuals.

O’Donnell: So Michael, do you want to make a Republican Party commitment to minimum wage workers that you absolutely will not consider repealing or reducing the minimum wage?

Steele: Nice try, Lawrence. I don’t do policy, I do political, so you need to talk to our legislative leadership and ask them what their position is going to be on the minimum wage.

O’Donnell: So do you think it’s a good idea? Do you think it’s good politics to reduce the minimum wage?

Steele: It doesn’t matter to me what I think. What matters is that the effort that we put on the ground to help our candidates win this November—they are taking their messages directly to the people, the people are responding, and they’ll get the final say on November 2 at the ballot box.

O’Donnell: By the way, what is the minimum wage?

Steele: [Laughing] You really like the minimum wage, don’t you? I want to talk about a lot more things beside one issue Lawrence.

O’Donnell: I had a minimum wage job once, and I had trouble living on that.

Steele: Look, the country’s hemorrhaging jobs right now.

O’Donnell: It’s ok to say you don’t know. If you don’t care about the minimum wage, it’s ok to say you don’t know what it is.

Steele: Look Lawrence, stop the trap playing here. The reality of it is—that is not the most paramount issue that voters out there are facing. When you’ve lost your job, whether you know what the minimum wage is or not is not relevant, you’re trying to get a job back. And that’s the debate the nation has been engaged in for over the last year. That’s the reality that people are facing right now every single day. The administration has failed to create jobs—close to 3 millions jobs have been lost. And this canard that we have saved or created x number of jobs is a joke. The reality of it is that the unemployment rate in this nation is 9.7%. The reality is that a significant number of people here in California and across the nation are looking for jobs. So the debate that candidates need to have with the people of this country and amongst themselves is what are we going to do to stimulate job growth, what are we going to do to empower small business owners? And that’s the nature of the debate. Whether the minimum wage is $7 or $10 or whatever it happens to be in whatever part of the country you live in, the fact is if you don’t have a job, that number is irrelevant until you get one.

O’Donnell: Well, the minimum wage is not t $7 or $10, but let’s move on to jobs.

Steele: That’ll be your headline: “Steele doesn’t know what the minimum wage is.”

On Delaware Senate Candidate Christine O’Donnell:

O’Donnell: She has said—and you are, as you said, locked in with the Tea Party—Christine O’Donnell has said that China has ‘a carefully thought out and strategic plan to take over America.’ She claims to have classified information about China and she says ‘I wish I wasn’t privy to some of the classified information that I am privy to.’ Do you agree with Christine O’Donnell, do you wish she wasn’t privy to classified information?

Steele: [Laughing] You really are a funny man.

O’Donnell: I mean, America would be safer if she wasn’t privy to classified information, wouldn’t it?

Steele: Christine O’Donnell is a fantastic candidate for us for United States Senate and I can’t wait to call her Senator.

O’Donnell: Michael, you know she’s lying about the classified information right? I mean, reassure the country. ‘Christine’s lying about it, she doesn’t have any classified information, don’t worry.’

Steele: Do you know that Lawrence? Do you know that?

O’Donnell: Is it legal for her to have classified information?

Steele: Let me ask the question, do you know that for sure?

O’Donnell: I know it to an absolute certainty.

Steele: Then produce your evidence and invite me back on the program to talk about it.

O’Donnell: She is lying, she is absolutely lying.

Christine O'Donnell, Lawrence O'Donnell, Michael Steele, Midterm Elections, Midterms 2010, Minimum Wage

The Real Royal King

I had to feel a bit sorry for Mr. Steele last night. True, he was a fool to accept his job, but defending Randi the Witch, particularly her classified secrets claim, is above the call of duty.
JimBob

Where are O’Donnells ears??
BatBoy

Quite frankly…I have been wondering the same about many in this adminsitration (from the highest levels down)

Seriously King, when you were a JAG, wouldn’t you have found quite a few people from this administration to prosecute?

The Real Royal King said:
….
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

If I were forced to watch MSNBC, O’Donnell’s new show is the one I would watch. I’ll probably check it out in the next couple of evenings. Having seen him in the past, I suspect he keeps things at a much higher level than sophomoric ding dongs like Schultz, Olbermann, and Maddow – not a very difficult thing to do.
Latin2

“Should Christine O’Donnell be privy to classified information?”

Why not, Barack Obama is…and Obama had ties with PLO terrorists, the Underground Weatherman, Marxist Communist sympathizers like Anita Dunn and Van Jones, persons under investigation by the FBI, like frequent white house visitor Andy Stern, and Hamas linked terrorists, and racist terror groups like the New Black Panthers and the Nation of Islam.

Which is worse? What is she going to give the info to witches or ENEMIES OF OUR COUNTRY…who have direct ties with Obama?
Latin2

Andy Stern has been in the whitehouse more than anyone else…and Andy Stern is under investigation by the FBI;

http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2010/09/fbi-investigating-obamas-main-man-seius-andy-stern.html

One of Obama’s old friends in Chicago has links with Islamic terrorist and Communist FARC who want to destroy us, Hatem Abudayyeh, is now under investigation by the FBI;

http://bigpeace.com/jhoft/2010/09/28/fbi-raids-home-of-obama-associate-radical-aaan-leader-in-terrorism-sweep/

I trust O’Donnell more than Obama, who was brought up by Frank Marshall Davis who had his own file for being a U.S. hating Communist.
http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

Should Al Franken have access to classified information? Should RRK, Ted, Iris, Box of Rox and GBR have access to Mediaite?
Latin2

Hell Obama shouldn’t be privy to any information. His friends Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dorhn were domestic terrorists and they even are proud of it. Obama has more shady and criminal ties than Al Capone and Fidel Castro.
Big Eddie

Should Obama have access to classified info , like the Koch brothers tax status ?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

I have no idea why MSNBC and Olbermann are still so focused on Christine O’Donnell….wait, I’m talking about Olbermann, never mind. The guy who had a show last night on the same level as Spongebob Squarepants. Lawrence O’Donnell shouldn’t even have brought her up. I think O’Donnell has almost no shot at winning the DE senate seat, so why don’t these people spend their time trying to beat candidates who pose more of a threat? Entertainment, and trying to paint Christine O’Donnell as the face of the GOP, that’s why.

Not that O’Donnell in the senate would be such an aberration. After all, we do already have Senator Al Franken. And, if anyone wants to debate the qualifications of O’Donnell with Franken, let’s have at it. Both have bachelor degrees with no post grad education, O’Donnell from Farleigh Dickinson, Franken from Harvard College (not Harvard University.) Neither had served in politics before deciding to run, so both had zero experience. O’Donnell dabbled in witchcraft in high school, Franken spent a decade wearing a diaper on SNL.

SInce taking office, Franken has fallen asleep in Senate hearings on Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court, and made comedic faces and hand gestures while Mitch McConnell was addressing the Senate. Franken is a complete farce. If he’s qualified to be a US Senator, then O’Donnell is as well.
TfT

And then there is this:

CHANGE: Treasury Inspector General to Investigate White House Disclosure of Confidential Taxpayer Data of Political Opponent. (instapundit)

But, no interest on MSNBC’s part (or mediaites for that matter) about the White House disclosure. Nope, lets attack the female conservative candidate and let hehimself get a pass.

What a surprise!!!!
Latin2

Olbermann’s M.O. is attacking women.

So it does not surprise me he is attacking ANOTHER woman.

Oblermann is a sick misogynist who can’t even get a decent woman because he is a woman hating buffoon
Latin2

oops wrong blog…lol…never mind
The Real Royal King

Andy Lamb said:
I have no idea why MSNBC and Olbermann are still so focused on Christine O’Donnell….wait, I’m talking about Olbermann, never mind. The guy who had a show last night on the same level as Spongebob Squarepants. Lawrence O’Donnell shouldn’t even have brought her up. I think O’Donnell has almost no shot at winning the DE senate seat, so why don’t these people spend their time trying to beat candidates who pose more of a threat? Entertainment, and trying to paint Christine O’Donnell as the face of the GOP, that’s why. Not that O’Donnell in the senate would be such an aberration. After all, we do already have Senator Al Franken. And, if anyone wants to debate the qualifications of O’Donnell with Franken, let’s have at it. Both have bachelor degrees with no post grad education, O’Donnell from Farleigh Dickinson, Franken from Harvard College (not Harvard University.) Neither had served in politics before deciding to run, so both had zero experience. O’Donnell dabbled in witchcraft in high school, Franken spent a decade wearing a diaper on SNL. SInce taking office, Franken has fallen asleep in Senate hearings on Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court, and made comedic faces and hand gestures while Mitch McConnell was addressing the Senate. Franken is a complete farce. If he’s qualified to be a US Senator, then O’Donnell is as well.

I think it is simply because her situation is so amusing. And, she is an entree into the larger issue of Tea Party competence or the lack thereof. I don’t actually believe there is anything particularly personal involved.
The Real Royal King

Latin2 said:
“Should Christine O’Donnell be privy to classified information?” Why not, Barack Obama is…and Obama had ties with PLO terrorists, the Underground Weatherman, Marxist Communist sympathizers like Anita Dunn and Van Jones, persons under investigation by the FBI, like frequent white house visitor Andy Stern, and Hamas linked terrorists, and racist terror groups like the New Black Panthers and the Nation of Islam. Which is worse? What is she going to give the info to witches or ENEMIES OF OUR COUNTRY…who have direct ties with Obama?

He is the President, Twit, and she is, well, not much of anything. You know credit reports are used in security clearance analyses, and she could not get a security clearance. So, there is a huge difference, one which escapes you, no doubt, as do research and reason in general.
Latin2

The Real Royal King said:
I think it is simply because her situation is so amusing. And, she is an entree into the larger issue of Tea Party competence or the lack thereof. I don’t actually believe there is anything particularly personal involved.

…like the “competence” of Obama…lol Independents are RUNNING away from him as fast as they can.

…and so are even some of the Democratic politicians
The Real Royal King

BatBoy said:
Quite frankly…I have been wondering the same about many in this adminsitration (from the highest levels down) Seriously King, when you were a JAG, wouldn’t you have found quite a few people from this administration to prosecute?

It’s not an uninteresting question, but I am afraid I have very little information. If I am not mistaken, the “scuzziest” administrations in recent history have been Raygun, by far, W, Clinton, Bush I. I’m not at all sure we have risen to those levels yet.

I should also add my JAG work tended to be divorces, custody matters, wills and, primarily, negotiations with local authorities. I only defended a couple of times and prosecuted only once.

I may not be the most qualified person to answer your question.
Latin2

The Real Royal King said:
He is the President, Twit, and she is, well, not much of anything. You know credit reports are used in security clearance analyses, and she could not get a security clearance. So, there is a huge difference, one which escapes you, no doubt, as do research and reason in general.

Listen King Twat, is that why Obama’s ‘buddies’ are now under FBI investigation?
The Real Royal King

Latin2 said:
…like the “competence” of Obama…lol Independents are RUNNING away from him as fast as they can. …and so are even some of the Democratic politicians

Twit, your sweeping generalization on every topic have become meaningless, and I think I’ll just consign you to the troll file, to be ignored.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

Al “I fall asleep during Senate hearings and make goofy faces while other Senators speak” Franken as a US Senator opens the door to anyone with a bachelor’s degree as equally qualified. He had zero executive experience and had never held any office of any kind before being elected. Since he was an admitted cocaine abuser in the ’80′s and ’90′s, even drug users should be welcome. With the colossal joke Franken in the US Senate, few people can now be considered unqualified – period.
Latin2

The Real Royal King said:
Twit, your sweeping generalization on every topic have become meaningless, and I think I’ll just consign you to the troll file, to be ignored.

good…then don’t respond to me…my life would be so much better without your b.s. King Twat.

…and how was the effects of Obama’s “Community Organizing” doing for Chicago…oh yeah…4 of the top most dangerous places in the country are from Obama’s Chicago.

So my opinion stands…the evidence is in his performance as a FAILED Community Organizer which left a BIG mess in Chicago
Harry Flashman

Andy beat me to it.

If Al Franken is qualified there should be no question about this woman. Yeesh.
Cecelia

The Real Royal King said:
I may not be the most qualified person to answer your question.

Especially since he made the whole thing up…
Hardrada

I liked Larry better when he did his “Scanners” imitation on a regular basis.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

The Real Royal King said:
I think it is simply because her situation is so amusing. And, she is an entree into the larger issue of Tea Party competence or the lack thereof. I don’t actually believe there is anything particularly personal involved.

I repeat once more, and for the last time, if Al Franken is qualified to be a US Senator, then Christine O’Donnell is. Period, without any doubt. Anyone can hop on here and try to debate that point, and they will lose. They may present horseshit opinion as fact (lots of that on here), say O’Donell is crazy, etc. but based on fact, education, and experience, Franken and O’Donnell are a deat heat. Yeah, Franken is an admitted two decades long cocaine abuser, but we’ll let that go. Yeah, he’s fallen asleep in Senate hearings, and he’s made goofy faces and hand gestures while another Senator was addressing the members, showing absolutely ZERO respect for the office that he holds, but we’ll let that go too.

O’Donnell is absolutely, factually, posiitively as qualified as Franken was when he was elected. And Franken’s childish comedic behavior as a US Senator has set a very, very, very low bar for O’Donnell if she is elected.
Latin2

Andy Lamb said:
I repeat once more, and for the last time, if Al Franken is qualified to be a US Senator, then Christine O’Donnell is. Period, without any doubt. Anyone can hop on here and try to debate that point, and they will lose. They may present horseshit opinion as fact (lots of that on here), say O’Donell is crazy, etc. but based on fact, education, and experience, Franken and O’Donnell are a deat heat. Yeah, Franken is an admitted two decades long cocaine abuser, but we’ll let that go. Yeah, he’s fallen asleep in Senate hearings, and he’s made goofy faces and hand gestures while another Senator was addressing the members, showing absolutely ZERO respect for the office that he holds, but we’ll let that go too.

O’Donnell is absolutely, factually, posiitively as qualified as Franken was when he was elected. And Franken’s childish comedic behavior as a US Senator has set a very, very, very low bar for O’Donnell if she is elected.

Oh and let’s not forget this guy;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOTDsPiK12o
The Real Royal King

Cecelia said:
Especially since he made the whole thing up…

So, what’s the take over at the Koldys’ PHOX Phan Klub regarding Jet Pack Kilmeade? Or, is it being ignored?
zumpano

Franken graduated MAGNA CUM LAUDE with a DEGREE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE

O’Donnell graduated with a DRAMA DEGREE

I think the conversation should be: by how big of a spread will she LOSE HER ASS? My guess is over 10%.
zumpano

Franken graduated MAGNA CUM LAUDE with a DEGREE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE

O’Donnell graduated with a DRAMA DEGREE

So, if you’re going by “Education”, like you said, then: We report, you decide.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

zumpano said:
Franken graduated MAGNA CUM LAUDE with a DEGREE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE O’Donnell graduated with a DRAMA DEGREE So, if you’re going by “Education”, like you said, then: We report, you decide. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

I figured someone would join in and try to defend Franken –

1) Franken graduated cum laude, NOT magna cum laude – HUGE difference
2) O’Donnell’s degree is in English literature, not Drama.
3) Both have bachelor’s degrees with no post grad education, one in English lit., one in Political science (a theory degree) – a very fair comparison.

But hey, if you want to defend a guy who got his bachelor’s in 1973 and then spent the following 20 years snorting coke and wearing a diaper on TV, go for it. A guy who got elected with absolutely no management experience, and no experience in politics. A guy who has distinguished himself as a US Senator by falling asleep in Senate hearings and making asinine goofy faces and hand signals while other Senators speak. In other words – a complete tool. You want to defend him, good for you.

As you would say –
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Mexican2

gordonbloyershow said:
Should Al Franken have access to classified information? Should RRK, Ted, Iris, Box of Rox and GBR have access to Mediaite?

SHOULD THIS BIG DUMMY HAVE ACCESS TO THE MEDICINE CABINET?
http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

I have been searching the military records and I can’t find anyone named The Real Royal King, in the military or a JAG officer. Hmmmmmmm? I wonder why? I did find someone with that name or close to it working at the circus.
writer

I don’t think we can fairly judge how Franken is doing as a senator, since he is rarely sober.
writer

When I reminded the King that in order to go through law school, then serve in JAG during Vietnam, he must be pushing seventy, he seemed offended. Must have been a child prodigy.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

writer said:
I don’t think we can fairly judge how Franken is doing as a senator, since he is rarely sober.

Writer, just so that everyone is clear, sobriety refers not only to alcohol abuse but also to the use of psychoactive drugs. I don’t want anyone to think you are accusing Franken of alcohol abuse, only (accurately) pointing to his admitted two decade long addiction to cocaine. He says he’s clean now. Since, unlike in professional sports, there is no random drug testing in the Senate, we have to take his word for it.
writer

Andy, I believe him. I’m sure when he fell over that railing the other day, it was pure coincidence.
CarmanK

Franken is an accomplished comedian , who earned his way to celebrity by intelligence, hard work and being able to know and understand people. A comedian knows people. He is a capable, thoughtful man who fights for the underdog in the US Senate. O’Donnell hasn’t accomplished anything of note. She is immature, broke and dishonest. Her celebrity wasn’t earned but imposed by the ignorance of her constuency and the hype of FAUX news. She is a clown who is not funny. Her nomination to the US Senate shows just how desperate the repugs are to avoid a real discussion of their failed economic policies and major failures to govern. She is an unfortunate distraction to the seriousness of the responsibility of citizenship to vote for people capable of representing people in Congress and defending this democracy from its enemies: foreign and domestic.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

gordonbloyershow said:
I have been searching the military records and I can’t find anyone named The Real Royal King, in the military or a JAG officer. Hmmmmmmm? I wonder why? I did find someone with that name or close to it working at the circus.

The crown looks eerily similar to the one worn by the guy in the Burger King commercials. Since serving as a JAG officer requires strong investigative skills, that would explain the commercial where he breaks into McDonald’s headquarters and finds the Big Mac recipe. Maybe we’re talking about the same guy?
Alric_IV

Harry Flashman said:
Andy beat me to it.

If Al Franken is qualified there should be no question about this woman. Yeesh.

Maybe you’re unaware that Al Franken is a Harvard graduate. Yeah. Why wouldn’t he be qualified, even if that wasn’t true?
Alric_IV

gordonbloyershow said:
I have been searching the military records and I can’t find anyone named The Real Royal King, in the military or a JAG officer. Hmmmmmmm? I wonder why? I did find someone with that name or close to it working at the circus.

Oh, my goodness. That right-wing humor is always such knee-slapper. I haven’t heard humor this good since I was, like — I don’t know — ten? Twelve?

I read this short story sometime back by Flannery O’Conner, about this ignorant woman all puffed-up with herself, and in the end someone slaps her across the face. It sort of knocked the vinegar out of her. Do you think, Gordo, if someone would do that to you, would it remedy your stupidity?
Alric_IV

Andy Lamb said:
I figured someone would join in and try to defend Franken –

1) Franken graduated cum laude, NOT magna cum laude – HUGE difference
2) O’Donnell’s degree is in English literature, not Drama.
3) Both have bachelor’s degrees with no post grad education, one in English lit., one in Political science (a theory degree) – a very fair comparison.

But hey, if you want to defend a guy who got his bachelor’s in 1973 and then spent the following 20 years snorting coke and wearing a diaper on TV, go for it. A guy who got elected with absolutely no management experience, and no experience in politics. A guy who has distinguished himself as a US Senator by falling asleep in Senate hearings and making asinine goofy faces and hand signals while other Senators speak. In other words – a complete tool. You want to defend him, good for you.

Boy, if we were giving out prizes for the obviously desperate, this post would take the gold. I’m a big Al Franken fan, from the days long before his foray into politics. So let me straighten you out on a few things.

First of all, that he graduated cum laude is good enough. There might be some difference between manga cum laude and cum laude, but to claim either distinction is really something.

Second, saying he spent twenty years snorting coke and wearing a diaper is just a lie. He spent a few years doing those things, but not twenty. He was done with that by at least the late 80s. Put it this way: the character Stuart Smalley was a parody of what he’d seen in 12-step programs, and that character went back to the 80s. He was also during that time during those years one of the head writers at Saturday Night Live. After he went straight, he continued this gig, and expanded into other things, such as writing his own very funny books and even at least two screenplays. I bought his books back then, which were nonpolitical, and I even bought a comical meditation tape he recorded as Stuart Smalley. This was good stuff, and brilliant. Then he took this foray into politics. When he wrote the book Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot, the title alone made me laugh, and I knew that this was the man able to have a damned fine time ridiculing that gasbag. And it was funny. After that, I bought all of his satirical polemical books — which, by the way, were rife with facts — and they were all a blast.

I know right-wing toots hate anything to do with any liberal, so they’ll deprive Franken of any praise, regardless of how deserving he is. You’re so tight-lipped and tight-assed that there’s no way you can put away your politics enough to enjoy something funny. I’m not talking about his political books. If you’d read his books years ago without knowing his politics, you might have enjoyed them, if you understand irony or satire. If you find someone like Gordon Bloyer funny, you probably won’t get Franken’s humor. Too bad for you. But in a way, I’m glad. I like the idea you’re too stupid to know better.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

Alric_IV said:
First of all, that he graduated cum laude is good enough. There might be some difference between manga cum laude and cum laude, but to claim either distinction is really something.

Good enough for what? If you read through this thread, you’d find that someone else claimed that Franken graduated Magna Cum Laude. I straightened that person’s incorrect statement out, that’s it. The debate was on education, and on that front Franken and Christine O’Donnell are a wash. In my opinion, O’Donnell is a poor candidate for a US Senate seat. That said, her qualifications are about the same as Franken’s were before he took office. The other guy tried to insinuate that Franken has a much better education. He doesn’t.

Alric_IV said:
When he wrote the book Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot, the title alone made me laugh, and I knew that this was the man able to have a damned fine time ridiculing that gasbag. And it was funny.

I guess you must be right, you just have a much better sense of humor than I do. Yeah, that’s it. And the fact that sense of humor has not a damn thing to do with the discussion on this thread is beside the point.

Alric_IV said:
I know right-wing toots hate anything to do with any liberal, so they’ll deprive Franken of any praise, regardless of how deserving he is. You’re so tight-lipped and tight-assed that there’s no way you can put away your politics enough to enjoy something funny. I’m not talking about his political books. If you’d read his books years ago without knowing his politics, you might have enjoyed them, if you understand irony or satire. If you find someone like Gordon Bloyer funny, you probably won’t get Franken’s humor. Too bad for you. But in a way, I’m glad. I like the idea you’re too stupid to know better.

Maybe Franken deserves praise for being a good comedian, I have no idea nor do I care. Maybe he was just trying to be funny up when he fell asleep in Senate hearings and made asinine goofy faces and hand signals while another Senators spoke. Yeah, yeah, that’s it, he was just trying to inject humor into the stuffy Senate. Nothing on this thread was about comic genius until you showed up. The discussion was about qualifications for a US Senate seat.

Everything in your friggin’ post is about comedy. This is Mediaite.com, it is a political news and opinion blog. For laughs, you should look for a comedy blog. Sorry I struck such a nerve with you about Franken. Here, I’ll try again – “Al Franken is a very brilliant and funny comedian and satirical writer. He has had a long and successful career as a comedic actor and writer. He was elected to the US Senate in 2008, where he has pretty much been a complete donk.” There, is that better?
Patrick Henry

Alric_IV said:
Boy, if we were giving out prizes for the obviously desperate, this post would take the gold. I’m a big Al Franken fan, from the days long before his foray into politics. So let me straighten you out on a few things.

I don’t find Franken funny, but you are hilarious. Thanks for the laugh!
timcajun

I think we can be clear that Cutie O’Donnell never had any such clearance! Before a tea nut claims she did, then she has just endangered many persons doing Gods work in that country! The really odd issue is that it looks as if O’Donnell thinks these events did happen, rats with human brains, education at Oxford, witchcraft, jobs she didn’t have, no foreclosers! There are some bright conservatives, she is not one of them!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeff-Smith/100000971156947 Jeff Smith

@Andy: “The debate was on education, and on that front Franken and Christine O’Donnell are a wash.”

You cannot possibly be serious. If you are, then you are truly a fool. If you are not, then you are simply a cynic.

Franken, like him or not, is a cum laude graduate of Harvard. Christine O’Donnell failed to earn enough credits to graduate from FDU (a school not noted for its rigorous academic requirements) during her initial time at the school, and only last month completed the credits necessary to actually earn a degree (the “I didnt have the money to pay the last tuition bill so they withheld my degree” smokescreen is an utter lie … they withheld the degree because she did not have enough credits). There is no comparison any sane person could make between the educational credentials of these two people. None.

Sounds like typical Tea Party Cognitive Distortion.
http://www.facebook.com/TeaPartyCognitiveDistortion
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

Jeff Smith said:
You cannot possibly be serious. If you are, then you are truly a fool. If you are not, then you are simply a cynic. There is no comparison any sane person could make between the educational credentials of these two people. None. Sounds like typical Tea Party Cognitive Distortion.
http://www.facebook.com/TeaPartyCognitiveDistortion

Of course I’m serious, and I’m quite sane. Let me begin by saying that many times on these boards I have stated my opinion that Christine O’Donnell is a bad candidate. Tea Party supporters pushed because her GOP opponent was the most liberal GOP candidate running in just about any race. I still would have backed Castle, as he is far less liberal than Chris Coons. O’Donnell has no shot. I’m not a Tea Party member or backer, and am not a Christine O’Donnell fan, so I have no interest in looking at the Facebook link you provided.

Franken and O’Donnell both have bachelor’s degrees. Franken’s degree is in Political science (a theory degree), O’Donnell’s is in English literature. Franken attended Harvard College, an undergrad school for Harvard University. Definitely less rigorous academic requirements than Harvard University. O’Donnell attended Farliegh Dickinson, a respected tier 1 private university. It’s not as if she went to some half ass community college. Yeah, Franken got his bachelor’s in 1973 and O’Donnell got hers in 2010 because of one class. So? I don’t give bonus points for getting your degree years ago. At the time of his election, Franken had a bachelor’s degree with no post grad education. Ditto O’Donnell, if by some miracle she is elected. So yes, it’s pretty much a wash education wise. No sane person would try to argue this point.