99.99% of the entire U.S. population would be crazy to match wits with Scalia.
Al Franken probably falls within the top 25%. He didn't stand a chance.
I think you rate him too highly.
Franken is a comedian posing as a commentator. He's very good at mocking the mockable, which is just about everything, but taking on someone like Scalia without heavy prep work or perhaps certain and steady sobriety is simply stupid.
One of Harry Blackmun's clerks described Scalia's stature in the war between liberal and conservative Justices:
The glaring contrast between the liberal and conservative Justices was reflected in almost every aspect of Court life and was on public display during every oral argument. I came to dread these session, where, from the cheap seats at the side of the courtroom, the liberal clerks would watch demoralized as the conservatives thoroughly dominated the proceedings. There was Scalia, ever witty, brilliant, and self-satisfied, leaning forward into his microphone to make mincemeat of those advocates with whom he disagreed or coming to the rescue of friendly counsel. . . .
-- Edward Lazarus, Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court (personal copy)
Poor Al was . . . clueless . . . or maybe puffed up with Dutch courage.