But was Al Franken really ever that funny?

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Who among us ever thought you might not be able to trust a guy who once played Stuart Smalley?

(Hat tip: Deceiver.com)

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It looks like long-time TV critic Roger Ebert deserves two thumbs up for garnering the top punditry prize in the nation from Forbes magazine. What exactly does that mean? Well! It means that out of all the talking heads you see and read each day, he’s the best of the best. Apparently.

Ebert beat out some really loud people you might have thought to be shoe-ins in such a battle of brawn. Bill Maher was ranked second, followed by FOX News’ king Bill O’Reilly; Senate candidate Al Franken; TV “journalist” Geraldo Rivera; Rosie O’Donnell; film critic Leonard Maltin; legal commentator Greta Van Susteren; CNN news commentator Lou Dobbs; and basketball analyst Bill Walton.

Jesse Jackson, Sean Hannity and Keith Olbermann were among near misses for the top ten.

Interestingly, liberal Web pundits like Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos and Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo scored high “likability ratings” with certain population segments, but their awareness numbers, which are more important than appeal, according to the Forbes polling team, were “barely on the radar screen.”

The same is largely true of elite, but popular, newspaper columnists like Thomas Friedman, Maureen Dowd, and Robert Novak.

So! What to take away from all this? Grab some popcorn, stow your politics and start watchin’ some movies.

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“He’s a pompous ass.”

Nope, that’s not Bill O’Reilly’s farewell to Al Franken now that he’s signed off from his radio show to pursue a full-time Senate campaign – it’s his radio replacement, Thom Hartmann, talking.

Sources close to both Hartmann and Franken have confirmed exclusively to Big Head DC that there’s little love between the two liberal talkers.

Publicly, the gentlemen have been civil, but Franken lobbied behind-the-scenes to have a bigger name fill his shoes on Air America during the noon to 3 p.m. slot. But Hartmann, who has been a radio host for years, won the coveted seat, and is expected to take over today. And he came a lot cheaper than Franken, according to sources.

“Al is concerned that the station doesn’t have enough big players,” said the same source who quoted Hartmann’s less-than-flattering description of the former Saturday Night Live player.  

Shades of animosity we’re apparent when the AP recently interviewed Hartmann about his new gig: “Everybody does different shows,” Hartmann said. “People have really bonded with Al’s show – he had a lot of loyal listeners. I will do my best for them.”

Both men did not return requests for interviews from BHDC.

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I don’t care what some Minnesota politics journal says. The Hill newspaper’s venerable newsman can’t hold water compared to Wonkette’s Alex Pareene. Even Al Franken can’t compare to Alex Pareene. I love Alex Pareene.

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He’s good enough, he’s smart enough and, gosh darn it, people like him. Comedian Al Franken, best known for playing a gay SNL character, is hinting that he wants to be a Senator (from Minnesota, but, still, a Senator).

Republican incumbent Norm Coleman is trying to pretend that he’s not scared of a guy in a light blue sweater, but his words betray him. He told McClatchy Newspapers that Franken “obviously has a sense of humor” by calling his PAC “Midwest Values.”

“Hollywood values aren’t Midwest,” Coleman proclaimed, “and the money isn’t Midwest.”

To add insult to injury, foes of Franken are also noting that he’s been hosting his radio program from New York (until he retires on Valentine’s Day), and would amount to just another Hillary Clinton-esque carpetbagger. Ironically, Coleman grew up in New York, and didn’t move to Minnesota until an adult.

We think Coleman doth protest too much. If Franken does end up running, he’s gonna have to overcome one mighty obstacle: His big, crazy, googly muppet eyes.  

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After whacking Air America for the past umpteen months, Bill O’Reilly finally has something to truly crow about: the station has gone under financially — and Al Franken is as ugly as ever. 

“I don’t even know if they can make it to the election,” the NYDN on Saturday reported Rush Limbaugh as saying on his own conservative program. “They’ve never had any idea how radio works.”  

Under the Chapter 11 filing, the progressive station will continue broadcasting.

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