Why Not Me?

The Inside Story Behind the Making and the Unmaking of the Franken Presidency

By: Al Franken

Narrated by: Al Franken

Updated with more on the real race in 2000!

First came Theodore White's The Making of the President, 1960. Then All the President's Men. Now the searing chronicle that will forever change the way we view the man and the office...

Why Not Me? chronicles the dramatic rise and dizzying fall of Al Franken, who would become the first Jewish president of the United States. Meet the president as a young man. Witness the Franken campaign in its infancy, as the candidate pledges "to walk the state of New Hampshire, diagonally and then from side to side." Go behind the scenes and meet Team Franken, the candidate's brain trust: including brother and deputy campaign manager Otto, a recovering sex addict and alcoholic, and campaign manager Norm Ornstein, the think-tank policy wonk who masterminds the single-issue (ATM fees) campaign. Cheer as Franken stuns the pundits by defeating Al Gore for the Democratic nomination, then is swept into office carrying all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

Then, through excerpts from Bob Woodward's detailed account of the first hundred days, The Void, go inside the Franken White House, which is gripped by crisis from day one. After the highly medicated chief executive exhibits a roller coaster of bipolar behavior, Franken is forced to cooperate with the Joint Congressional Committee on the President's Mood Swings. And when the committee releases Franken's personal diaries to the public, his presidency faces its ultimate crisis.It began on a cold day in January, when Alan Stuart Franken took the oath of office and became the 44th President of the United States. It ended 144 tumultuous days later with the words: "Boy, am I sorry."

Here for the first time in paperback is the searing chronicle of Al Franken's journey to the White House - the visionary campaign, the landslide victory, the hookers, the payoffs - told through confessions of key aides, Franken's own diaries, and excerpts from Bob Woodward's book on the first 100 days of the Franken Presidency, entitled The Void, the campaign in its infancy, as Franken decides to run on a single-issue platform: lower ATM Fees. Follow along as Team Franken canvasses the nation, attacking Al Gore, attacking U.S. banks, attending a couple of prayer breakfasts.

Then go inside the Franken White House where for 144 days a president virtually reinvents the office, boldly appointing the first all-Jewish cabinet, then battling a severe case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As scandal rocks the administration, Why Not Me? becomes a tragic American morality tale: of a man who dared to believe that anyone could be president - and paid the price for proving he was right.

©1999 Al Franken, Inc. (P)1999 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"An imaginatively funny and fresh satire...part autobiography, part manifesto, part diary and part eulogy." (The Washington Post)

"[A] witty send-up of presidential politics...Franken proves again that he's one of our savviest satirists." (People)

"A gleefully absurd, rambling jaunt through the ritual of American campaigning...a hilariously farcical account." (Entertainment Weekly)

Funny, but a bit long

If you could sum up Why Not Me? in three words, what would they be?

Funny, but lengthy

Who was your favorite character and why?

Otto Franken is tough to beat. I just love the idiot who never learns or changes.

What does Al Franken bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His delivery on his material makes it come alive.

best of al's books.

I think this is the funniest of Franken's books. It spoofs all campaigns and politicians of recent years, but mostly it makes fun of the public. Who but American voters would consider a candidate based on a one issue platform: Rid the world of ATM fees. Having Al read the book makes it even better. I highly recommend.

Overlooked Classic

Great satire of the presidential election process, right down to the candidate turning a non-issue (ATM fees) into an entire platform, and dirty tricksters (the fictional brother who literally bashes opponents with a 2x4). Franken's reading does add a lot to it... don't miss this one.

Good but get the one about Fox first

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes it was pretty funny, but I liked his other book better

What other book might you compare Why Not Me? to and why?

the lying liars Which was better

What about Al Franken’s performance did you like?

You can tell he has been in comedy for a long time