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In the early days of his political career, Minnesota Sen. Al Franken's biggest obstacle was distancing himself from his previous job title — comedy writer. 

Political opponents would often use comments Franken made in jest, or as satire against him.

"Very often in satire you use literary tools like irony or hyperbole or even ambiguity," Franken said during a conversation at the Commonweath Club of California on July 6. "And sometimes you take those out, and you rob everything of its context and it looks horrible at the end."

In order to show the people of Minnesota that he was serious about the job, Franken said he had to stop making jokes for a long time. 

Senator's new memoir marries comedy and politics

"I left the funny alone for quite a while. But I'm back," he said, adding he felt safe in bringing back his signature humor after winning his most recent election by a wide margin.

Aside from keeping his sense of humor in check, Franken, a Democrat, learned a lot on the campaign trail in 2008. For example, he had to be trained on the art of pivoting when answering reporter questions.

"What I really learned was that people cared about health care," Franken said. "Everywhere I would go in the state — if you went into a cafe, a VFW hall — you would see a flyer up on there about having a burger bash or a spaghetti dinner for a family that had gone bankrupt because someone had gotten sick."

The battle for affordable health care became personal that year because it was deeply personal to the people of Minnesota, he said.

Franken's new book,"Al Franken, Giant of the Senate," is currently No. 4 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Franken spoke with retired judge LaDoris Cordell at the Commonwealth Club of California as part of the Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. 

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Minnesota's Sen. Al Franken discusses his new bestselling book, "Al Franken, Giant of the Senate."

Minnesota's U.S. Senator Al Franken discusses his new best-selling book, "Al Franken, Giant of the Senate." He talks about why he's a Democrat, his transition from comedy to the Congress, current events, and President Trump. Franken concludes by saying he's an optimist and always honored to serve the people of Minnesota.

Sen. Al Franken on what he's learned serving Minnesota

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