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DFL Senate candidate Al Franken says he will use a portion of his state convention speech to address concerns that have arisen over some of his satirical writing about women. 

Franken is in a contest for the DFL endorsement with Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. Party activists will take up the endorsement tomorrow. 

An article that Franken wrote in Playboy eight years ago is getting a lot of attention in the media, but so far it does not appear to be shaping up as a big issue with delegates.

Delegates today heard from Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Both drew loud applause from the convention.  Neither mentioned  the controversy surrounding Franken.

But following her speech Klobuchar reiterated  that she has expressed concerns to Franken that he needs to acknowledge that some of his material from his past career was entirely inappropriate. She says Franken needs to separate the reality of his life from his attempts at humor.

"He's been married to Franni his wife for over 30 years; he loves his family, and he loves his country, and he cares about the issues, and that's what people need to focus on, but unfortunately because this has been sort of boiling up the last week, I think he needed to address is more directly," Klobuchar said.

Thursday night Franken issued  a statement saying he understood that some people have been legitimately offended by some of what he has written, and he regretted it.

On the way out of a meeting of the DFL disability caucus in a side room of the convention hall,  Franken said he plans to talk more about the controversy during his speech Saturday.  

Franken spent Friday talking with delegates on the convention floor, who he says are more interested in the issues than the Playboy dust up.

Still Franken said he needs to formally address the issue.

"I'm a person, and I feel bad about this and want to make sure that these women know that I will be there for them. Senators are supposed to represent everybody in the state," Franken said. "I am very happy for the support I have gotten from members of the feminist community, but I want to reassure everyone that I will be working and fighting for women when I am in Washington." 

Franken's opponent Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer agrees that delegates are focusing on other issues as they make up their minds.

"People are not bringing it up to me. I'm not bringing it up to them. You can talk to them.  There's obviously concerns out there, but again I'm just focused like a laser on a  politics of hope because I think people are sick and tired of distractions. And I think they're sick and tired of distractions, and I think they're sick and tired of politics that's  a battering ram where we knock each other down," Nelson-Pallmeyer said.

Nelson-Pallmeyer says his support for single payer universal health insurance and his early opposition to the Iraq war distinguish him from Franken.  

For his part, Franken agrees health care is a key issue, and he has been pointing out to delegates that he is capable of raising enough money to drive the issues to the forefront of the campaign. 

Convention delegates tomorrow will get a chance to vet both candidates during a one hour question and answer session before the endorsement balloting begins.

DFLers gather in Rochester to decide Senate race

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