YMMV / Why Not Me?

• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: Franken devotes an entire diary entry to "an unusually satisfying shit" he took and marveling how it came out in the shape of a question mark.
  • While it may seem like a BLAM, it does make sense in context when you realize Al writes the entry just after receiving an important memo from Norm Ornstein telling him he needs to put an end to the campaign's illegalities and, above all, to destroy the memo after reading it. Instead of paying attention to any of that, Al's mind is focused on the shit he took. Norm's memo is barely mentioned in the entry (and ends up being saved as part of Al's diary!), and it's this kind of dismissiveness that ultimately causes Al's downfall.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: While this book was originally a work of satire lampooning presidential politics, Al Franken really did go on to pursue a political career eight years after publication and became a U.S. senator from Minnesota. And he was such a success that at least one pundit urged Hillary Clinton to consider him as a running mate.
• Harsher in Hindsight: The premise of the book could have been considered outlandish at one point. That is, until another celebrity decided to enter a presidential race as the dark horse, unexpectedly steamrolled better-qualified competitors in the primaries and won the election despite constant gaffes, flip-flops, impractical promises, and ethical lapses.
  • Both apply in regards to Senator Joe Lieberman's role in the story. Hilarious in that after the book was published, Lieberman really did become the Democratic running mate in the 2000 election. Harsh in that after The War on Terror started, Lieberman's politics shifted increasingly to the right, leading to his losing the Democratic nomination when running for reelection in 2006, only managing to hold onto his seat by running as an independent. Then, in 2008 he endorsed the Republican nominee for president, John McCain, and came close to being chosen as McCain's running mate. He was initially McCain's preferred choice, until McCain was talked out of it by advisors who believed Lieberman's socially liberal positions (particularly on abortion) disqualified him.
  • The casual descriptions of the fictional Franken's brazen affairs in the book definitely feel harsher now that several women have accused the Real Life Franken of sexual misconduct.

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