Hillary's Secret Speechwriter: Al Franken

If U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's rhetoric sounds a little overwrought from time to time, it might be because she's an an intriguing new speechwriter: potty-mouthed comic Al Franken.

After interviewing Franken, Sunday's New York Times Magazine reports that Franken and his family "were regulars at the Renaissance Weekend retreat the Clintons made famous during their years in the White House; he counts Bill and Hillary Clinton as friends and has helped Hillary Clinton and Tom Daschle, the Senate minority leader, with speeches."

So, when Hillary Clinton says loudly that she's "sick and tired" of the Bush White House, or attempts to blame the president for the August 2003 blackout, is she just repeating lines penned by comic Franken? The angry comic isn't saying.

But he did deliver some disappointing news for liberals hoping that his debut later this month as the anchorman for the Democratic Party's new radio network will permanently change the talk radio landscape.

"I'm doing this because I want to use my energies to get Bush unelected," he told the Times. "I'd be happy if the election of a Democrat ended the show."

Editor's note: