From Beneficiary To Victim

For such a goofy-looking, idiotic-sounding blob of a man, Al Franken can move quickly when he wants to. Take, for example, how he spun his first on-air discussion of his radio employer's, er, "little problem":

Liberal yakker Al Franken blasted the man who founded his Air America radio network as "a crook" on Monday - even as he laughed off the financial scandal that continues to dog his broadcast.

After weeks of on-air silence about an $875,000 loan that Air America finagled from a Bronx community group that serves poor kids and Alzheimers patients, Franken was finally forced to discuss the scandal when a caller asked him to explain.

"Here's the deal," the Air America host said. "The first guy who was chairman of the board of Air America - Evan Cohen - was a crook, it turns out. I mean, I guess that's the only way to put it."

Explaining Cohen's role in ripping off the kids' club, Franken suddenly turned giddy.

"He borrowed $875,000," he said, erupting in laughter. "I don't know why they did it and I don't know where the money went."

Given that the State of New York has been compelled by the sheer scope of this heist to begin an investigation, this would seem to be a curious source of mirth even for so devil-may-care a hypocrite as Stuart Smalley.

Of course, he may just have been chuckling in anticipation of the fertilizer he was about to spread next (HT: Double-M):

Al Franken says 20,000 poor kids and old people weren't the only victims of an exec who allegedly arranged a Bronx charity's mega-buck "loan" to Air America.

"About three weeks into the life of Air America, I became an involuntary investor — I stopped being paid," Franken told listeners yesterday on WLIB (1190 AM).

"Cue the violins," indeed. Couldn't have been a very big dry spell if he's still there. Oh, I don't think the SNL alum would have missed any meals either way - just look at him - but it still rings false from a business standpoint. Maybe he could get shined on about Err America's initial financial backing, but unless he really didn't have any significant alternative sources of income, wouldn't no more paychecks be a red flag that something was wrong? Even if you didn't know about or suspect that major malfeasance was going on behind the scenes? Why would he stick around under those circumstances? It isn't as if Franken wouldn't have had a public voice otherwise - heck, given the imploding ratings of the leftie netlet, probably a lot bigger one than he has now.

Regardless, if Frankie is truly that lacking in business acumen, one would that his deeply-held sense of social and economic justice would compel him to quit Air Scamerica on moral principle alone. Certainly that's what he'd be demanding if it were Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity in this hot seat.

But no. Al Franken soldiers on, jovially working for crooks who may or may not honor his contract just as they may or may not repay that $875,000 "loan."

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that AF was in on the swindle before it's all said and done.

Now that would be worth a guffaw or two.