Humor & Life Quote by Al Franken

A comedian’s compliment is always a little bit of a hustle, and Al Franken’s line works because it makes that hustle feel sweet instead of slippery. “It’s the Power of the Almighty, the Splendor of Nature, and then you” stacks the universe into a ranked list, then slips a person into third place like it’s the most reasonable thing in the world. The laugh comes from the audacity: he’s comparing “you” to God and the natural world, but doing it with the deadpan confidence of someone reading off an awards podium.

The intent is flirtation by exaggeration, but the subtext is what sells it. By putting “you” after two overwhelming forces, Franken avoids the corny pressure of saying “you’re everything.” He’s not claiming the beloved replaces meaning; he’s claiming they belong in the same category of awe. It’s grand, but not possessive. The ordering also creates comic timing: you can feel the listener brace for a punchline or a deflation, and instead the line lands as a sincere overreach.

Context matters because Franken is a performer. Coming from a comedian, this isn’t just praise; it’s a miniature bit about scale, reverence, and the ridiculousness of trying to quantify affection. The joke is that he pretends he can measure wonder, and the romantic move is that he “proves” you place astonishingly high. That blend of reverent language and self-aware hyperbole is the whole mechanism: intimacy delivered with a wink.