Franni Franken could be any empty-nester housewife, whipping up a batch of cookies in her flour-dusted apron. On a recent afternoon, she ignores her ringing cell phone as she measures sugar, chops pecans and sets out a baking tray. But she's no ordinary home cook. Her dark blue apron bears the seal of the U.S. Senate, where her husband, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), works. And the nut-studded sweets that she's laboring over will feed staffers working on health care legislation, just a mile away on the Senate floor. Cooking is a political exercise for Franni Franken.
There are the dinners that she makes for her husband's staffers, always making sure to send them home with a Tupperware container full of leftovers. There are the trays of fruit, cheese and homemade nut bread that she sends over to his Capitol Hill offices during late-night sessions. And then there are the apple pies that helped win a Senate seat.
During her husband's protracted Senate run, Franni Franken's pies became hot items at small-town silent auctions across the state. The pies -- and their affable cook -- sweetened Minnesotans' impressions of Al Franken, countering criticism that the former comedy writer was cranky, hot-tempered and out-of-touch. Six months after her husband took his oath of office, Franni Franken is finding the right recipe for her new life as a Congressional spouse.
"I'm trying to use my time wisely, to be as effective as I can," she says. With her spiky mop of dark hair, whip-thin frame and wire-rimmed glasses, she has become a recognizable presence on Capitol Hill. She attends many of her husband's hearings and weekly constituent breakfasts. She keeps a close eye on the Senate schedule and knows when and what votes are on. On her coffee table is a thick white binder, "The Quality Affordable Health Care for All Americans Act Titles IV-X."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/politics3279865
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