Would he buy new jokes?
A sign that a candidate is having trouble competing in the arena of ideas is the call for publicly funded elections. It would certainly make Al Franken’s job easier:
…I often think about how badly we need public financing of elections in this country. We need it because I should be out talking to Minnesotans about the issues that matter to their families. We need it so that I can spend my days meeting with policy experts and reading up on legislation and working with progressives all over the state to build a movement that can take on Norm Coleman next fall.
The sense of entitlement Franken must feel, to believe taxpayers should finance his election campaign, trips the meter. I think it shows a serious lack of regard for hard-working citizens that he would advocate taking from their budget to pad those of politicians who have yet to represent a single one of them.