It's tough being a freshman Senator. There's a lot to learn, and for Al Franken, he's had to learn it all faster than most, and in the middle of hot national debate on health care.
So, if he makes a mistake now and then, a little flub here and there, we can forgive him.
One of the duties a new Senator is often assigned is to be the presiding officer on the floor. That gives the newbie a taste of parliamentary procedure, and allows them to get to put names together with faces in (hopefully) short order. That's why Al Franken was the guy who announced that Sonia Sotomayor had been confirmed as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
It was a few days ago, while Al was presiding over the Senate, that he made his little blunder.
Kent Conrad, a North Dakota blue dog, was in the chamber. Conrad is a big player on the Finance Committee, where serious health care negotiations are taking place. And North Dakota happens to be a state where 90% of the health insurance is Blue Cross / Blue Shield.
So Conrad is waving his hand at the podium to ask for recognition. It took Al a moment to see him, and when he finally did notice, Al was a little flustered. So instead of saying, as he was supposed to, "The chair recognizes the Senator from North Dakota," Al made a sort of, almost natural mistake.
Al said, "The chair recognizes the Senator from Blue Cross."
And thirty-four senators stood up.