Sen. Franken's Confirmation Jokes

Sen. Jeff Sessions called it "the fastest rise of any senator in history": When a microphone problems prompted Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy to sit, for a moment, in newly-minted Sen. Al Franken's seat, the junior senator slid over to Leahy's seat, noting "I shouldn't do this." "No, stay right there," Leahy said, but the former comedian took his seat anyway. Franken's jokes weren't confined to musical chairs: Noting that both he and Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor were Perry Mason fans as children, Franken reminisced on his favorite plots and asked if Sonia could name the only court case that Perry Mason lost. When she couldn't, Franken cracked, "Didn't the White House prepare you for that?" The room erupted in laughter.