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Happy Tax Day!

Fascism Watch, Part I: The War on the Citizenry

Today's post, on the whole, is going to be kind of grim. Don't say we didn't warn you. And it starts with this: The Trump administration advised yesterday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was accidentally deported to El Salvador, will remain disappeared.

It was actually a circus-like display of buck-passing. Both Donald Trump and AG Pam Bondi asserted that, now that Garcia is in Salvadoran custody, the U.S. does not get to decide what happens with him. This despite the twin facts that: (1) It's the U.S. that sent him there, and that is paying for him to be housed in a Salvadoran prison, and (2) If the U.S. says "Jump," El Salvador President Nayib Bukele says "How high?" Put another way, if, say, Steve Bannon had accidentally been deported, do you really think there is nothing the White House could, or would, do to get him back?

Conveniently, Bukele was at the White House yesterday for... meetings, we guess. And when he was asked about returning Garcia, he said he just doesn't have that authority. "How can I return him to the United States? Am I going to smuggle him?" he asked. "Of course I'm not going to do it? The question is preposterous." So, for those keeping score at home, Trump can't get Garcia back because that's Bukele's call, and Bukele can't send Garcia back because that's Trump's call. Do these people really think that anyone, other than the cultists, buys ANY of this?

The production of so much industrial-grade bull**it has quite a few people wondering if there's something more to the story that is being withheld from the public. For example, the White House claims that some of the information about Garcia is "classified," which has led to some (limited) speculation that he's a spy or is otherwise involved in activities that cannot be publicly disclosed. Others suggest that Garcia is dead, and that is the reason for the foot-dragging. Still others think he's alive, but somehow lost, such that the White House and the Bukele administration can't find him.

In our view, the truth is both simpler and more scary. The Supreme Court delivered a flaccid decision that, in a presumable effort to allow the administration to save face, also gives the administration wiggle room to try to adhere to the letter of the ruling, while utterly ignoring its spirit. And so, the current position being argued by the White House is that: (1) they have done as the Supreme Court (and lower courts) ordered, since they have "tried" to get Garcia back, and have updated the courts on their activities to that end, and (2) even if the courts' orders have not been obeyed, well, federal courts have no jurisdiction over foreign countries, even if those foreign countries are illegally holding American citizens. Abrego Garcia is not a U.S. citizen but in 2019, an immigration judge granted him "withholding of removal" status, which meant he could not be legally deported. He is a citizen of El Salvador, so this is a borderline case with El Salvador maintaining it doesn't have to ship its own citizens to a foreign country. Trump is clearly testing the waters here to see what happens and will base his next move on how it plays out.

In other words, the White House is using the gray area that John Roberts & Co. created to put to the test exactly what abuses of process it can get away with. And if the courts, including the Supremes, do not find a way to crack down on this, the administration will have given itself the authority to disappear literally anyone. After all, Garcia was in the country legally (permanent alien status), and besides, there is nothing in the arguments made by Trump, Bondi, et al. that have anything to do with citizenship status. It's 100% "Once someone has been turned over to authorities in another country, it's beyond the power of the U.S. government."

And just in case you think this might be an overreaction, Trump yesterday said he's "open" to deporting "homegrown criminals." Meanwhile, when Bondi appeared on Fox last night, and was asked whether it is legal to send U.S. citizens to foreign prisons, she refused to answer.

Now, we are exceedingly mindful around here about Godwin's law and its various corollaries. However, we now have a situation where people are being rounded up and sent to brutal prisons in a foreign country, without benefit of due process, and without any indication that they have committed a crime. Their only "offense," such as it is, is that they have been deemed enemies of the state. If anyone can identify a substantive difference between this and the early stages of the Nazi program—where the shipping of political opponents, alleged criminals, accused agitators, and other "undesirables" to places like Auschwitz in Poland preceded the targeting of Jews, and the campaign of mass executions—then they are shrewder students of history than we are. Oh, and by the way, yesterday the administration set aside a piece of land on the Mexican border where accused undocumented immigrants will be held—concentrated, as it were—under the supervision of troops from the U.S. Army.

Ultimately, the ball is the court (no pun intended) of U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis and of John Roberts to do something about this absolutely vile trampling on the Constitution and on human rights being undertaken by Donald Trump and his band of lickspittle stooges. (Z)

Fascism Watch, Part II: The War on the Media

Of course, the fascist playbook is not limited to the chapter on "pacifying" undesirable citizens. It's also important to silence critical media, so that the people only receive their RightThink from state-approved (and, eventually, state-run) apparatuses.

In the past few days, Trump has renewed his war against CBS/Viacom and, more specifically, against 60 Minutes. He is now calling, openly and frequently, for CBS to lose its broadcast license. So, what bug does he currently have up his a**? We'll let him explain in his own words, from his much-less-influential-than-60-Minutes boutique social media site. Perhaps you speak "stark raving loony" more fluently than we do:

Almost every week, 60 Minutes, which is being sued for Billions of Dollars for the fraud they committed in the 2024 Presidential Election with their Interview of Failed Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris, mentions the name "TRUMP" in a derogatory and defamatory way, but this Weekend's "BROADCAST" tops them all. They did not one, but TWO, major stories on "TRUMP," one having to do with Ukraine, which I say is a War that would never have happened if the 2020 Election had not been RIGGED, in other words, if I were President and, the other story was having to do with Greenland, casting our Country, as led by me, falsely, inaccurately, and fraudulently. I am so honored to be suing 60 Minutes, CBS Fake News, and Paramount, over their fraudulent, beyond recognition, reporting. They did everything possible to illegally elect Kamala, including completely and corruptly changing major answers to Interview questions, but it just didn't work for them. They are not a "News Show," but a dishonest Political Operative simply disguised as "News," and must be responsible for what they have done, and are doing. They should lose their license! Hopefully, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as headed by its Highly Respected Chairman, Brendan Carr, will impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behavior. CBS is out of control, at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

It's not entirely clear from Trump's rant, but this weekend's episode of 60 Minutes had a segment with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which he said "Russian narratives are prevailing in the U.S.," which The Donald apparently took as a personal slight. And the show also had a segment in which Greenlanders were interviewed and said they do not want to be taken over by the U.S., and don't like Trump treating them like their homeland is "a toy... or something." That was another personal slight, it would seem. Of course, Trump's suggestion that CBS lose its broadcast license is on top of the multi-billion-dollar lawsuit he's filed against them because they did an interview with Kamala Harris that he didn't like.

You never know, with Trump, what notions he is seriously entertaining, and what notions are just hot air. However, if he's serious, he has rather less leverage here than he thinks. If the FCC tried to yank CBS' license, that would end up in court, and CBS would certainly win. And even if they didn't win, the broadcast license only covers the use of public airwaves. In other words, CBS would lose, as customers, people getting the network via antenna. Of course, the vast majority of their viewers these days are reached via cable or via the Paramount Plus App. That has nothing to do with their broadcast license. On top of that, CBS has the Sunday AFC package (basically, NFL games played in AFC stadiums on Sundays). How do you think the people who were cut off from their Steelers games or their Chiefs games would feel when they learned it was Trump's doing?

Trump also thinks he can muck around in the planned Paramount-Skydance merger. Here, there are two problems. First, as with the broadcast license, it would end up in court. Second, the key figure driving the merger is Skydance CEO David Ellison. He's the son of Larry Ellison, who is a major Trump supporter and donor. Larry might have a few thoughts if he thinks his son is being screwed over by the administration.

Where Trump has more power, at least for now, is in controlling access to the White House. And the Associated Press reports that, despite a ruling from a far-right MAGA judge that the AP's access could not be blocked while other outlets were being admitted, the administration is still blocking them.

We don't know what the point of this is, beyond making the point that both the media and the federal judiciary must bow to the President. However, this could be another case where the administration isn't thinking things through very well. The more that the administration makes clear that court decisions are "optional," the more likely it is that people outside the administration will start to decide that court decisions are "optional" for them, too. That includes the court decisions that the White House likes. We're not there yet, but people generally won't abide by "one set of rules for thee, another set for me" for very long. (Z)

Fascism Watch, Part III: The War on Universities

Independent media are not the only source of WrongThink. Universities are also "guilty" of throwing cold water on the brave new world envisioned by the Dear Leader. Until this week, the various universities targeted by the Trump administration had all meekly surrendered. But then, in what could be a "Joseph Welch" moment, Team Trump took on mighty Harvard University. If there's any school that is in a position to take a stand, it's Harvard. That school has worldwide prestige and credibility. It has a vast and well-connected alumni network that includes folks like, oh, Barack Obama and Michael Bloomberg. Its faculty includes a large cadre of world-class lawyers. And, by the way, it also has an endowment over $50 billion, which is enough to weather a few storms, even if it means waiting a few years to win some lawsuits, and get back the money that has been illegally withheld by the Trump administration (plus damages and interest, probably).

Because Harvard is not bending the knee, and because the school is run by a bunch of really shrewd SoBs who can think circles around Donald Trump and his fawning lackeys, the letter that the administration sent to the school has now been made public. It is fair to think that other schools, like Columbia, got similar letters, but Harvard is the first one to share, because Harvard is not frightened of the consequences of doing so. "In for a penny, in for a pound" is the general idea.

Forgive us for using this concept so frequently today, but the 5-page, single-spaced letter reads like a fascist wet dream. You get the impression that various members of the Trump administration sat in a room, came up with every possible demand they could think of, and then put it ALL in, regardless of how plausible, how reasonable, or how legal the demand might be. Among the many, many demands:

• Reducing the power of anyone on campus (faculty, students, etc.) deemed to be involved in "activism"
  
  
• Eliminating all DEI programs and diversity-based hiring/admissions standards, and yet...
  
  
• ...at the same time, making a point to populate the student body, the faculty, and every academic unit with 50% MAGA Republicans, in the name of "ideological diversity." This is to be monitored and enforced by an independent group of commissars, to be paid for by the university but approved by the Trump administration.
  
  
• Significantly altering, and limiting, admission of foreign-born students
  
  
• "Reforming" programs with track records of "bias," including the Divinity School, Graduate School of Education, School of Public Health, Medical School, Religion and Public Life Program, FXB Center for Health & Human Rights, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Carr Center for Human Rights at the Harvard Kennedy School, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, and the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic. Because if there's one place that's just chock full of wild-eyed commie-pinko revolutionary agitators, it's the Harvard Divinity School.
  
  
• Immediate crackdowns on any student protests by university police.
  
  
• A comprehensive ban on surgical masks. Presumably, patients at the Harvard Medical School just have to learn to live with infections and communicable diseases.
  
  
• Total compliance with all demands no later than June 30 of this year (i.e., 76 days from now), and quarterly reports to the Trump administration documenting progress on, and compliance with, the new rules.

It is unbelievable that any government official would make such demands verbally, as all of these things are clearly illegal. It is even more unbelievable that any government official would actually WRITE THE DEMANDS DOWN, memorializing them for all to see. There is some reasonable suspicion that the folks running Harvard—who, again, are multiple orders of magnitude smarter than anyone in the Trump White House—deliberately played along with an eye toward receiving an actual written list of demands, so that the list can be submitted as Exhibit A in every single upcoming lawsuit the university files.

In the end, we would say that the White House overreached so much, Harvard was effectively left with no choice here. There is a way that a university builds up a $50 billion endowment, and that is through donations. Should the school sell out, the roughly $2 billion a year it collects could largely dry up, and $2 billion a year adds up pretty quickly. Further, once faculty and students got wind of the new regime, there would be rebellions, or mass resignations, or both. That would not be well for Harvard's educational/research missions, nor for its staid, Brahmin image. In other words, aside from questions of ethics, or integrity, or philosophy, it could well be that from a pure dollars-and-cents point of view, it was actually cheaper to fight than to yield. After all, if Harvard got a reputation as a quisling university, that would linger and do damage for years and years after Trump leaves office.

We think the Joseph Welch parallel really is salient here. Once the first person (or the first university) stands up and says "no," then it gets much easier for the second, and the third, and the fourth. Welch shamed Joseph McCarthy in June 1954, and the Senator's fall from power was complete by December 1954. We don't expect Harvard to win quite that fast, but with victory in court practically tied up in a nice, red, bow, it might not take too much longer than that, either. And if other universities follow, then maybe this part of Trumpism will be shattered for good. (Z)

Fascism Watch, Part IV: Generalissimo Donald Trump Is Still Alive

In fascist systems, the might of the state is the paramount concern. Meanwhile the leader is, at very least, the embodiment of the state, and may well BE the state. Either way, the leader must also be strong and healthy. And so, various fascist dictators have bent over backwards to emphasize how hale and hearty they are, from Mussolini denying his various hospital stays (likely to treat the effects of syphilis) to Vladimir Putin's shirtless horse rides to the Kims in North Korea claiming various fantastical athletic feats, like running a 2-minute mile, or scoring holes-in-one on 50% of the golf holes they play.

We note this as prelude to the news that the White House has released the latest annual report on Trump's health, the first one of Trump v2.0.

There are a couple of portions that attracted the notice of, well, pretty much everyone. First, at the very start of the report, it is claimed that Trump is 6'3" and weighs 224 pounds. Yeah, right. Here is Trump standing next to the 6'1" Barack Obama:

Or, if you prefer, here's Trump standing next to the 6'2" Justin Trudeau:

Even with the lifts, Trump is 6'1", tops.

As to 224 pounds, please. Maybe if they don't count his legs. That part is so obviously false, even more so than the height, that this meme launched yesterday morning, and took off like wildfire:

Thereafter, copycat tweets compared Trump to dozens of other current and former NFL players who match the basic measurements, among them Tim Tebow, Larry Fitzgerald and Derrick Henry. Eventually, there was a wave of "more realistic" comparisons, like Trump and Andre the Giant, who weighed over 500 pounds.

All of this said, vain people have been known to fudge their weight (and sometimes their height) and Trump is very, very vain. And he's done this on every one of his health reports, starting with the ridiculous letter from Harold Bornstein back during the first presidential run in 2015. So, it was actually the "summary" passage that raised the most eyebrows. Here it is; see if you can pick out the ridiculous part:

SUMMARY: President Trump remains in excellent health, exhibiting robust cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and general physical function. His active lifestyle continues to contribute significantly to his well-being. President Trump's days include participation in multiple meetings, public appearances, press availability, and frequent victories in golf events. President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.

In case you missed it, it's the part that refers to "frequent victories in golf events." It's debatable whether playing golf a few times a week represents an active lifestyle. But even if it does, winning tournaments (especially those held at YOUR golf course, where everyone knows the score, as it were) is irrelevant. It's only there as braggadocio.

There can only be two possible explanations here. The first is that, in Dr. Sean P. Barbabella, Trump has found another physician-as-folklorist, just like the last one (the present-day Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-TX). The alternative is that, after Barbabella files his reports, someone at the White House edits them. Either way, it's clear they can't be trusted. We're probably not quite in Mussolini/Kim territory yet, although golf-"skill"-as-proof-of-fitness is getting eerily close. (Z)

Democratic Presidential Candidate of the Week, #38: Al Franken

We didn't have a chance to do a profile last week, but we're back on track now.

• Full Name: Alan Stuart Franken
  
  
• Age on January 20, 2029: 77
  
  
• Background: Franken was born to a Jewish, working-class family in New York City, though his parents relocated to Minnesota when he was still a toddler. While in elementary school, he met and befriended Tom Davis, who would be his long-time comedy partner. Whip-smart (think: the anti-Tuberville) and a talented wrestler, Franken earned admission to Harvard, which is obviously all over today's posting.
  
  After graduation from that institution, Franken paired with Davis (who attended the University of the Pacific, but dropped out) to try to launch a career in comedy. Things went well in Minnesota, but not so well in Los Angeles. On the verge of giving up, the duo accepted a single writer's slot on the new show Saturday Night in 1975 (it didn't become Saturday Night Live until 1977). That meant that Franken and Davis got to share an office, and a salary of $350/week during the weeks an episode aired. Accounting for the number of episodes in a season, as well as inflation, Franken and Davis were each earning the present-day equivalent of about $23,000 a year.
  
  Fortunately for them, they became key members of the early writing staff, and helped create a lot of the political content, along with recurring bits like "The Nerds" and "The Franken and Davis Show." After 5 years, they left, along with virtually the entire cast and staff. When Lorne Michaels returned, Franken (but not Davis) returned with him, spending another 10 years on the show, during which he created "Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley," "Colon Blow," and "Unfrozen Cave Man Lawyer," along with a bunch more political satire. In total, Franken was part of the writing staff (and featured cast) for 15 years, and won five Emmys.
  
  In addition to his TV and film work, Franken also taught at the Harvard School of Government, hosted a show on the lefty Air America radio network, wrote four bestsellers, and has done numerous comedy tours, including several for the USO.
  
  
• Political Experience: Franken was close friends with Sen. Paul Wellstone (DFL-MN). After Wellstone died in a plane crash, Franken took exception to some of the things that his replacement, Republican Norm Coleman, said about the deceased (and very liberal) senator. So, Franken decided to challenge Coleman. The result in the general election is the one that hopeful losers, all across the nation, look to when the final tally is close. On election night 2008, Coleman was ahead by 215 votes. After a state-law-mandated recount, Franken pulled ahead by 225 votes. Then, after a lawsuit filed by Coleman, Franken's lead grew to 312 votes. That's not how that is supposed to work. Because of all this wrangling, Franken was not formally certified until June 30, 2009. When he arrived to finally take his seat in the Senate, he learned his new colleagues had saved Wellstone's former desk for his use.
  
  Franken earned a reputation as a "work horse" focused on legislating and on constituent services. He rarely did television hits, and did not endeavor to leverage his show business connects. The people of Minnesota liked what they saw, because he won reelection by a comfortable margin in 2014, 53% to 42% over Republican Mike McFadden. In 2018, Franken was accused of posing for some semi-vulgar photos by (and with) LeeAnn Tweeden, who accompanied him on one of his USO tours. His misdeeds were unserious enough that if this had happened in the year 2025, he probably would have weathered the storm. But 2018 was the very height of #MeToo, and the Democrats were trying to win a special election in Alabama based on a #MeToo-type argument. So, Franken was run out of town on a rail, without benefit of a hearing from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Later, several colleagues who helped push him out said they regretted their actions.
  
  
• Signature Issue(s): Healthcare. Franken wrote sizable portions of the Affordable Care Act, and served throughout his time in the Senate on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  
  
• What Would His Pitch Be?: "I can connect with people on the other side of the aisle."
  
  
• Instructive Quote: "When you encounter seemingly good advice that contradicts other seemingly good advice, ignore them both."
  
  
• Completely Trivial Fact: The EGOT, made famous by Tracy Jordan on the show 30 Rock, is the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar and the Tony. There are 21 people who have won all four parts of the EGOT in competitive categories, and another 6 who join the list if you count honorary and/or lifetime (i.e., non-competitive) awards.
  
  Franken is not an EGOT winner. But, by virtue of having five Emmys and two Grammys, he's halfway there. The only other current or former U.S. Senator to have reached the halfway mark is... Barack Obama (two Emmys, three Grammys).
  
  
• Recent News: Franken is on tour right now, but he still keeps his hand in the game, at least a little bit. He just gave his endorsement to Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (DFL-MN) in next year's senatorial race.
  
  
• Strengths for the Democratic Primaries: (1) Naturally, Franken is great on TV; (2) Franken, as we note above, is one of a very few Democrats (Pete Buttigieg is another) who can engage with voters across the spectrum without alienating them; (3) Franken is popular in the Midwest, and the Midwest plays an outsized role in the primary process.
  
  
• Weaknesses for the Democratic Primaries: (1) Franken is far removed from someone like Harvey Weinstein, but he was still brought down by a #MeToo scandal, and there may be some Democrats who cannot forgive or forget that; (2) If the goal is to win back blue-collar white workers, then a highly educated very liberal urban Jew with Hollywood ties is probably not going to do that; (3) Many Democratic voters clearly want a changing of the guard, and are not going to be buying what a Baby Boomer (any Baby Boomer) is selling.
  
  
• Polls: Nobody is asking 2028 primary voters about Al Franken, of course, but he does appear in the regular YouGov polls of the most popular politicians in America. The good news is that, of the roughly 400 people that YouGov polls for, Franken is in the Top 10%. The bad news is that he's right around 40, which places him in the same neighborhood as Charlie Kirk, Ron Paul, Ilhan Omar, Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence. Clearly, this is where people who have a cadre of megafans, but also a cadre of megahaters, end up.
  
  
• How Does the Readership Feel?: We asked readers for their thoughts on Franken running for president; here are some of those responses:
  
  
  • E.S. in Providence, RI: Al Franken was extremely effective as a Senator, admirably taking up causes that were dear to his mentor Senator Paul Wellstone. I will never forgive Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) for hustling him out of the Senate for a childish joke and using it as a talking point in her vanity presidential campaign. That said, the Democrats can't afford to have another candidate who would be nearing 80 on Inauguration Day 2029 (if there is one).
    
    
  • R.R. in Potomac, MD: I really, really wish Al Franken could have run for president. He is smart, thoughtful, and caring. If he hadn't been caught up in the #MeToo movement for what was really very minor misbehavior (at least from what I've read about it) I think he might well have been a viable candidate. But he's too damaged still and probably too old. It's really a shame.
    
    
  • M.A. in Tucson, AZ: This is not about Al running for President... that is patently absurd. However, he was a good Senator and should be one again. We are waaaaaayyyyyyy past "fake touching of boobs" as a non-starter. He should never have been cashiered by the Democrats in the first place.
    
    
  • P.S. in Marion, IA: Aside from the obvious liabilities and controversies, Franken occupies a celebrity/intellectual/comedic space that has many more charismatic, funnier and more entertaining characters that'd be much more viable as a primary candidate.
    
    Even though the following have either outright declined or not given any serious inclination of running, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Mark Cuban, Stephen A. Smith, Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Maher are much more engaging and respected in terms of their liberal celebrity appeal.
    
    Franken fails to connect with mass audiences in the way those figures do, and would be viewed as decidedly B-list and incapable of generating any meaningful groundswell of support. Franken leaned heavily into feeling he had to prove he was "serious" from his initial razor-thin victory in 2008. His current podcast could easily masquerade as an NPR program, and Democrats know their biggest 2028 challenge is the perception of having their noses up to the average voter. Circle-jerk podcasts with Atlantic, NYT and WaPo columnists don't connect to anyone outside that bubble when the intellectual left (loosely) will be looking for someone who can go on Joe Rogan or Fox News. There's no realistic primary coalition for Franken.
    
    
  • M.S. in St. Louis Park, MN: Al Franken is one of the most intense listeners I have ever met. We met at a state DFL (In MN, that's Democrat) the year before he actually ran for Senate. He had two locally big-name opponents already; only one had a recruiting booth at the state convention. It had no literature and its volunteers had no information. Franken's booth, however, had at least 6 brochures, cards, position papers, etc., all of high campaign quality.
    
    I read over his position papers while waiting in the back of the convention hall to wave posters for a friend running for St. Paul school board. I noted the Harvard degree in public affairs. That, plus his literature, showed he was serious about public service. Then I saw him making the rounds of the hall, shaking hands. When he got to me, on impulse, I started briefing him about campaigning differences in rural Minnesota, mentioned specific issues in the town where I grew up, and ID'ed the big-money company that employed half the county. I said their website cited positions similar to his, and ID'd what was their biggest need from Congress.
    
    He leaned forward the whole time, listening with his eyes as well as his ears. I took a chance and warned him that his New York suit and California tan would read as "phony" to them and suggested jeans and plaid shirts, plus studying Hubert Humphrey's warnings about what would happen to small towns if big money took over agriculture. He appeared to memorize everything I said and thanked me very graciously before moving on.
    
    Over the years, I followed his activities in both the urban and the small town newspapers. He changed his look to match his surroundings and studied even the "boring" issues. He rivaled Sen. Amy Klobuchar (DFL-MN) in constituent service, and moved ahead of her in the presidential nomination gossip.The GOP noticed, and went after him. We lost an exceptional public servant, one who is still really popular here, who could have won here again.
    
    He won't run again; he's still traumatized by what they did to him. But he's still the best out there.
    
    
  • S.P. in Harrisburg, PA: Every ad his opponent's campaign will run will have the photo of Franken with his hand over the sleeping woman's boob.
  
  
• The Bottom Line: Too little, too late. If Franken had it all to do over, he might have been a viable presidential candidate in, say, 2020. But between the scandal, his having been out of politics for the better part of a decade, and his Biden-like age in 2029, his moment has passed.

Next week, it's #37, former Montana senator Jon Tester. If readers have comments about him running for president in 2028, please send them to comments@electoral-vote.com.

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