Franken says he regrets playing with traffic cones
DFL Sen. Al Franken said Thursday he regrets a moment a few years ago when he held two traffic cones to his chest.
Until today Franken hadn't commented about a short video clip Republicans have been circulating that shows him playing with the traffic cones. Franken said it was a moment when he "wasn't thinking."
"I just think it was a thoughtless moment. Obviously, someone was shooting me that I wasn't aware of, and it was just a moment I regret," said Franken at the State Fair today.
Republicans are still trying to make an issue of the stunt.
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GOP Senate candidate Mike McFadden called the Franken's statement far from an apology.
"He said he didn't know he was being videotaped. I mean, as a parent I'd send my kid back to his room," said McFadden, who also notes that when Franken first ran for the Senate he offered a sweeping apology for things he said and did as an entertainer that could have offended women.
"I don't think he's changed," said McFadden. I think his apologies in '08 rang hollow given his actions as a U.S. senator."
When asked whether the campaign should be focused more on policy, McFadden criticized Franken for agreeing to take part in only three debates.