The Truth (With Jokes) - Epilogue: The Resurrection of Hope

Epilogue: The Resurrection of Hope

The epilogue takes the form of a letter Franken writes to his grandchildren, dated October 2, 2015. Among the predictions Franken makes (the book was published in 2005) for the coming years:

• Air America, on which Franken was hosting a self-titled talk radio program at the time of writing, has grown from being "just a radio network" to an "international media behemoth". (In reality, Air America, plagued by financial trouble, liquidates in January 2010).
• The Democrats reclaim control of the House of Representatives in the 2006 elections, while the Senate elections that same year end in a 50–50 split. (In reality, the Democrats do take over the House, but also end up with a 51–49 majority in the Senate—including two independents who caucus with the Democrats.)
• Democratic congressional investigations unearth sweeping corruption in Bush's entire cabinet, forcing the ouster of every departmental chief except for Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta. (In reality, Mineta resigns as Transportation Secretary on July 7, 2006. Several other members of Bush's cabinet at the time the book was published, however, would resign before the end of Bush's term, including Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.)
• The presidential race in 2008 has unnamed Democrat defeating Senator Bill Frist (R–Tennessee) in a landslide. Karl Rove advises Frist from prison ("Not because of Plame. He punched a cop."). (In reality, Senator Barack Obama (D–Illinois) defeats Senator John McCain (R–Arizona), with 365 electoral votes to McCain's 173.)
• Franken runs for Senate in Minnesota in 2008 and wins. (In reality, Franken does go on to run for Senate against Minnesota's incumbent Republican Norm Coleman, and after a prolonged legal battle and recount process, the election is resolved in Franken's favor on June 30, 2009.)
• George W. Bush is impeached, convicted and begins drinking again "all in the space of a single afternoon," January 18, 2009, two weeks after the new Senators are sworn in and a scant two days before he would have left office under normal circumstances. (In reality, Bush is not impeached, and there have been no prosecutions to date of major members of the Bush administration.)
• Franken mentions working with Congressmen Sherwood Boehlert (R–New York), Jim Leach (R–Iowa), and Senator Ted Kennedy (D–Massachusetts). (In reality, Boehlert does not seek another term in 2006, and Jim Leach is defeated by Democrat Dave Loebsack that year. Franken does serve alongside Kennedy until the latter's death on August 25, 2009, though they do not collaborate on any major bills.)
• Bills to provide universal health care, end dependence on fossil fuels, reform Homeland Security and create a fairer tax code are proposed and passed within the first four days of the new president's term. (In reality, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passes 14 months later, green energy legislation has been stymied, and proposals for tax reform are still being debated.)
• The president is elected to a second term, and then is nominated to the Supreme Court.

The paperback edition, released in 2006, features an additional chapter, "You're Welcome," implying that his book had some effect in leading to the conviction of Jack Abramoff. The chapter talks briefly about some of the events that happened since the publishing of the hardcover version, among these Hurricane Katrina, Vice President Dick Cheney shooting Harry Whittington, and the management of American ports by businesses in Dubai.