Franken, my dear, they don’t give a damn

Our news story this week about Al Franken is creating quite a buzz in the blogosphere. The article by Ben Westhoff reports on the weird workout habits of the SNL alum cum bestselling author cum DFL candidate for U.S. Senate. According to several of his neighbors in the Grant Park condo building, Franken—who as of late has been trying to reinvent himself as a Serious Issues Guy—still likes to put on a show in the gym room.

"He yells, 'Go Al!' and then puts his sweaty towel in his mouth, shakes his head back and forth, and growls like a dog," says Lauren Zeller, a 28-year-old risk consultant. "The cycle repeats: 'Go Al!,' towel, shake head, growl."

But not all of his neighbors mind the odd activity, and at least one is pissed that her fellow condo dwellers ratted Al out. Over at the blog Accident Prone, a Grant Park resident named Marium writes that she enjoys the show. “I’ve seen Al Franken in the gym. So what if he makes noises. We all do. I listen to Shakira for motivation to run that extra mile. Al cheers himself on. I love it!”

Meanwhile, a diarist at Democratic website Daily Kos wonders if the article signals a “rightward turn” at City Pages. Writes “the Big E”: “This is a perfect example of conservative framing: Al Franken should not be considered a serious candidate, we have anecdotal evidence that you should take at face value.”

To answer the Big E’s question: No, it doesn’t signal a rightward turn, as should be evident by this week’s feature story, which is plenty critical of several prominent local Republicans.