Truth - Al Franken [136]
While writing on Iraq, I sat down to talk with George Packer of The New Yorker and David Phillips, formerly of the State Department. Thanks. Ditto to: Naomi Klein, Richard Clarke, James Fallows, and Larry Diamond.
Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth Preston and all the folks at the USO. Thanks for taking me over to Iraq and, more important, bringing me back.
Wait. I almost forgot Peter Orszag, Steve Clemons, Brian Greer, Joshuah Bearman, Stephen Elliott, and Uwe Rheinhardt. Thanks. But I’d never forget Brian Ross. Thanks, Brian.
To the friends who read the manuscript as it progressed—Norm Ornstein and Hazel Lichterman. Thanks. Also, Beth McCarthy and Peter Koechley, who gave their notes through Ben Wikler. So, I’m not sure whether they even deserve thanks. But thanks anyway.
This is the second book in a row where my son, Joe, bore the biggest brunt in terms of not having as much of my time as I’d like to give him. Sorry. And thanks. And thank your sister, Thomasin, for me. And apologize for me, too.
Thanks to my departing assistant, Nate. Good luck. And to my new assistant, Casey Boyd, also good luck. Trevor Beddoe, thanks for archiving. Marie Evans, thanks for always being there for the whole family.
The acknowledgments I can’t in good conscience gloss over are to Billy Kimball, Andy Barr, and Ben Wikler.
I’ve had the incredibly good fortune of working with Billy Kimball since 1992, when together we pioneered Comedy Central’s political coverage with a series called Indecision ’92. Billy was my producer then and is my executive producer now, guiding The Al Franken Show with a steady hand and constant brilliance. As he has with my previous three books, Billy has lent his comedic hand to this one. I firmly believe that America leads the world in comedy, and throughout my thirty-plus years in show business, I have worked with a good number of our nation’s most gifted comedy writers. Some have planned their careers better. But none is funnier than Billy Kimball.
You may remember Andy Barr from my last book, Lies. He was the Harvard TeamFranken sophomore I took to Bob Jones University as part of one of that book’s pranks. Andy graduated in June and immediately came on board as a researcher for the radio show and to take over the enormous task of researching and vetting this book. I cannot imagine doing this book without Andy. Although I guess it would have been possible.
It would not have been possible without Ben Wikler. Like Andy, he was a TeamFranken member on my last book. Ben’s two years older than Andy, and so was able to come on the radio show at its very start as a producer. Ben reminds me of myself when I was his age, except smarter, wiser, more worldly, better read, more passionate, much much taller, and just as funny. Ben was with me every step of the way on this book. I cannot thank him enough.
And I hate to spoil the conceit, but I have to thank my wife, Franni, properly. In addition to being my life partner, best friend, etc., she took care of me, Ben, Andy, and Billy. Thanks, hon. Isn’t being an empty nester easy?
And once again, anyone I forgot, blame Andy.
1 “Mark Felt” is the alias I’m using in order to protect the identity of my real source, Judith Miller.
2 I was not aware at the time that Kalamazoo is in Michigan. But that’s what I said. I could easily have changed Kalamazoo to “Cincinnati” or “Cleveland,” but I respect you, my readers, too much to give you anything but the truth. Also, I didn’t want to leave myself open to Swift boat–style attacks on my integrity from my staff, who frankly I don’t trust.
3 The show might not really be called that, but I’m too lazy to look it up. I think that’s it.
4 In grudging fairness to Kristol, I should explain his argument before completely dismissing it. He wrote that “while the Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton victory margins were much, much bigger,” Bush’s victory was more impressive because he was “a war president” who couldn’t run a “smiley-face campaign,” but rather had to be “serious and substantive.