The Michigan Democratic Party announced this morning that U.S. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota will be this year’s keynote speaker at the Democrats’ annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at Cobo Center in Detroit on April 16. 
Franken was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008. Before running for the Senate, Franken spent 37 years as a comedy writer, author, and Air America radio talk show host and has taken part in seven USO tours, visiting troops in Germany, Bosnia, Kosovo and Uzbekistan, as well as visiting Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait four times. 
“Sen. Franken has been a fighter for Democratic values and for working people during his two years in the Senate and played a crucial role in the health care debate by fighting successfully to limit insurance company profits,” said party Chairman Mark Brewer. “We look forward to meeting him and hearing him speak at our Jeff-Jack dinner in April.”
I don’t know how Franken handles himself as a senator at these types of venues. But when he was a comedian, I saw him speak at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual Mackinac Island conference and he was very, very funny. I’m talking about a room full of people laughing so hard they were wiping tears from their eyes.