Franken dallies in Hannity country

SUNDANCE — Utah County is Sean Hannity country.

So what in the name of Rush Limbaugh was Al Franken doing at Sundance on Friday?

Franken — a former "Saturday Night Live" cast member and New York Times best-selling author — was in town for a live broadcast of his Air America Radio show.

For more than three hours, he skewered President Bush, blasted the war in Iraq, and with the help of Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, warned his listeners that global warming is going to destroy the world.

It was typical fare for America's most famous liberal talk-radio host. In Utah County, where conservative talk radio dominates the airwaves, it sounded almost revolutionary.

"It was refreshing, it was different," said Utah County resident George Zinn, one of about 125 people who watched the show's live broadcast in the Sundance Screening Room. "Down here all we get is Limbaugh, Hannity and Michael Reagan. It's hardly a fair and balanced view."

The irony of broadcasting live from Utah was not lost on Franken, who knew he was in the heart of Bush country.

Anderson, who Franken introduced as the "mayor of the biggest city in the reddest state," saw his appearance as a victory of sorts and encouraged Franken to return.

"We want you to come back often because we need more of the truth being told here," he said. "The mainstream media is not telling the truth."

Anderson also encouraged people to keep tuning into the upstart network.

Launched a year ago, Air America nearly went off the air a few weeks after its inception, much to the delight of folks like Hannity and Limbaugh.

But the network has rallied. It now reaches 50 markets and recently made its debut in Washington, D.C., Detroit and Cincinnati.

"Most Democrats consider the emergence of liberal talk radio a vital precursor to any return to power," Joshua Green wrote in the April issue of Atlantic Monthly. "They are unified in the belief that they must build a political 'infrastructure' (the reigning buzzword) to compete with the Republicans', and many activists say that liberal talk radio, though still in its infancy, is already the most mature component."

Franken is the network's biggest star, and on Friday it was obvious why. With his trademark sense of humor, he touched on the biggest news stories of the day: steroids in baseball, the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank and Bush's plan to overhaul Social Security.

"What is this, the Nixon White House?" he said in response to pro baseball players who testified before Congress Thursday but refused to answer questions about steroid use.