# Lance for Governor! -or- Celebrity Politicians **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 25, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065 "2005-07-25T16:09:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/1 "2005-07-25T16:09:09Z")
From [Outside Magazine](http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200507/lance-armstrong-interview-3.html): > [@](#): > > _Hal Espen (interviewer)_ You’re going to be changing professions at some point. > > _Lance Armstrong_ …Maybe I’ll run for governor. > > _Espen_ Joke or serious? > > _Armstrong_ There’s no follow-up. I’ll leave it at that. Not in '06, though. I drove Sheryl by the governor’s mansion last night on the way home from dinner. It’s a nice mansion. Nice place, nice house—I hate the word mansion, but it’s a nice house. > > _Espen_ Location, location, location. > > _Armstrong_ Well, it’s next to work, next to the capitol. Off the cuff remark or trial balloon? Is Texas ready for a governor who is a liberal Republican, as Armstrong is described? What is the recent track record of celebrities who become politicians? (For instance, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s approval rating [is down to 41%.](http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:ySPNwUtWefgJ:www2.sjsu.edu/spri/05survey/SPRI070705p)) What does Armstrong bring to the job besides notoriety and a hot girlfriend? On the other hand, isn’t the point of a democracy that all citizens with the ability to lead should be able–nay, have a _duty_–to serve and that we should not limit our leaders to members of a leadership class? [aside] Looking through his online biographies it doesn’t look like his mind has been warped by excessive education or exposure to liberal professors. Is modern Texas ready for a governor with barely a high school education? [/aside] ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/2 "2005-07-25T21:33:07Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > [aside] Looking through his online biographies it doesn’t look like his mind has been warped by excessive education or exposure to liberal professors. Is modern Texas ready for a governor with barely a high school education? [/aside] Jeez, I dunno… Could Texas really vote for a smart person for governor? Ever since Ann Richards left, it seems to have preferred idiots. The burning question is: could Lance Armstrong unseat Governor Friedman? Stay tuned! (Seriously, Texans: where’d that nice Ron Kirk fellow head off to?) Celebrities, I’d say, enjoy a real advantage at the outset, since they’ve got built-in name recognition and, usually, loads of cash. But, as Governor Schwartzeneggar has shown us, that doesn’t always translate into a strong, successful term in office. Governor Ventura showed us the same thing. Incumbency is a very potent ingredient to a winning election campaign. If you’re in office and you know what you’re doing, you can stay there forever. Consider Sonny Bono, who was a good politician: that’s why they kept voting for him. Would Lance Armstrong run as a Republican? Because it seems that if you’re a celebrity running for office, you have to be. Apart from Helen Cahagan and that guy who played Cooter on _The Dukes of Hazzard_, how many other celebrities have been elected as Democrats? On the other hand, consider: Ronald Reagan, George Murphy, Fred Granby, Clint Eastwood, Sonny Bono were all Republicans, and possible office-seekers Pat Sajak and Kelsey Grammar have said that they’d run as Republicans. Seems the Republican Party is the way to go, if you’re a celebrity seeking office. (Though, to be fair, Jerry Springer and Al Franken have said they’d run as Democrats, if they ran. However, my point still stands: celebrities are much sweeter on the Republican Party, for whatever reason.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/3 "2005-07-25T22:27:32Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > What does Armstrong bring to the job besides notoriety and a hot girlfriend? On the other hand, isn’t the point of a democracy that all citizens with the ability to lead should be able–nay, have a _duty_–to serve and that we should not limit our leaders to members of a leadership class? Nothing aside from a grea bio, and yes. I fully support everybody’s right to run for office, but I really don’t like celebrity politicians. It seems like most of them run just because they can. ---
**Author:** ![MAGunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@MAGunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MAGunter)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/4 "2005-07-26T04:17:49Z")
If people can see fit to break from the “omfg we must vote for a republican!” mold in Texas, Kinky Friedman has a great shot at capitol. And best of all, his positions are honest and a nice blend between reps and dems. I have no doubt though that Lance would win by a landslide. Hell, I think Lance could run for Preisdent and have a pretty good showing if he wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Gene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Soylent\_Gene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Gene)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/5 "2005-07-26T05:24:05Z")
Hot girlfriend? thats debatable. Coincidentally, she’s looking more and more like Maria Shriver every year (Skeletor). And since when do you need a hot chick to get elected…what about Laura Bush? She’s about as hot a Betty Crocker. I say go for it Lance. He has no experience in politics so he’s gotta be better than the creeps already in office. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/6 "2005-07-26T05:26:42Z")
> [@Soylent Gene](#): > > I say go for it Lance. He has no experience in politics so he’s gotta be better than the creeps already in office. The logic there is what, exactly? If I ever need open-heart surgery, I’m gonna go to the hospital, drag the janitor into the OR, and tell them I want _him_ to do the operation. He’s got no experience, so he’s got to be better than those money-hungry jerk doctors. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Gene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Soylent\_Gene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Gene)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/7 "2005-07-26T06:45:41Z")
And your logic is that you can make an analogy between performing open-heart surgery and the ability to smooze PACs and travel on information-gathering junkets? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/8 "2005-07-26T12:20:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Celebrities, I’d say, enjoy a real advantage at the outset, since they’ve got built-in name recognition and, usually, loads of cash. But, as Governor Schwartzeneggar has shown us, that doesn’t always translate into a strong, successful term in office. Governor Ventura showed us the same thing. As a Minnesotan who didn’t vote for Ventura and really didn’t think much of him going in, he had a strong successful term (under the circumstances - i.e. its hard to get the legislature to help when you don’t have much of a party to work with, but that wasn’t an issue of his celebrity, it an issue of having a third party candidate win the governorship) and I think would have gotten reelected. He chose not to run. For such a tough guy, he has a pretty thin skin and really didn’t enjoy the amount of intrustion in his life. I didn’t agree with all his politics, but I thought a lot more of him when he left than when he went in. ---
**Author:** ![rorty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@rorty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rorty)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/9 "2005-07-26T12:41:36Z")
> [@Soylent Gene](#): > > And since when do you need a hot chick to get elected…what about Laura Bush? She’s about as hot a Betty Crocker. She’s hot in a 1950s housewife way. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/10 "2005-07-26T14:15:57Z")
> [@MAGunter](#): > > If people can see fit to break from the “omfg we must vote for a republican!” mold in Texas, Kinky Friedman has a great shot at capitol. Do you really think so from discussions with Texans or is that wishful thinking because you can’t imagine anything cooler? 😉 > [@](#): > > And best of all, his positions are honest and a nice blend between reps and dems. Are there any centrists left in Texas? > [@](#): > > I have no doubt though that Lance would win by a landslide. Do you live in Texas? > [@](#): > > Hell, I think Lance could run for Preisdent and have a pretty good showing if he wanted to. I think so, too. There’s a lot to be said for positive name recognition, which is something celebrities bring to a race. And we know he’s a tough, but graceful, competitor. Whether he’s thin-skinned, like Ventura, is something I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/11 "2005-07-26T14:16:58Z")
> [@rorty](#): > > She’s hot in a 1950s housewife way. Like BettyCrocker. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/12 "2005-07-26T16:36:34Z")
One smartass was quoted in Tom Fitzgerald’s column, “It’s about time Texas had a governor who knows how to ride a bicycle.” ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/13 "2005-07-26T16:50:13Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Like BettyCrocker. Yep. Betty Crocker is hot. So’s Betty Furness. And Anne Price. And the lady on the cans of Contadina products ain’t bad, either. As to Little Debbie… just wait 'till she grows up! Laura Bush has the basic makings of what I find attractive in a woman, for the most part. The problem is that I just can’t see past her politics—and women who play the docile role turn me off (even if they really aren’t that way, which I suspect about Laura.) > [@](#): > > Are there any centrists left in Texas? I predict that Texas is the swing state of the future. Considering that its Senate and gubernatorial elections tend to have notoriously low turnout, I’m betting that once someone figures out how to get those folks worked up about politics, things are going to change. You read it here first, folks. Mark my words. I guess I’ve gotten off the original topic. On the whole, I don’t care for celebrity politicians, either. For the record. (So… that puts us back on topic, right?) ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/14 "2005-07-26T17:13:40Z")
> [@Chance the Gardener](#): > > Yep. Betty Crocker is hot. So’s Betty Furness. And Anne Price. And the lady on the cans of Contadina products ain’t bad, either. As to Little Debbie… just wait 'till she grows up! You are a sick, sick man. Though I do admit to getting wood for the St. Pauli girl. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/15 "2005-07-26T19:44:19Z")
> [@furt](#): > > You are a sick, sick man. What’s wrong with [Betty Furness?](http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Furness,%20Betty/Furness,%20Betty_01.jpg) Sure, Fred Astaire dumped her for Ginger Rogers in _Swing Time_ but I think that was more a reflection on her dancing than her looks. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/16 "2005-07-27T01:15:17Z")
I live in Texas. I’d vote for Satan before I’d vote for Perry. If Lance appears on the ballot, I’ll vote for him in a heartbeat. I’d rather vote for someone who has worked hard in his life than for a bigot such as Mr. Perry. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/17 "2005-07-27T01:36:20Z")
> [@Soylent Gene](#): > > And your logic is that you can make an analogy between performing open-heart surgery and the ability to smooze PACs and travel on information-gathering junkets? My logic is that choosing somebody do a job when they don’t know how to do it does not exactly guarantee good results. ---
**Author:** ![MAGunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@MAGunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MAGunter)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/18 "2005-07-27T23:21:33Z")
The thing is, even Republicans in Texas are sick of Perry. Perry is the definition of lameduck, he’s got zero political capital and little respect left. If Kinky can get the financial backing to mount a campaign anywhere near what the Reps/Dems do, he’s got a shot. His politics are great. Lance though wouldn’t even need that backing, people have so much respect for the man that I think he’d walk right into the governor’s mansion. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/19 "2005-07-28T01:29:33Z")
Forget Governor. Lance for President! 😃 I’d never considered it before, but the idea seems a natural progression for him. He seems to have the temperment and PR down. He’s also very driven and fairly intelligent. I’d vote for him. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065/20 "2005-07-28T01:52:57Z")
Lance has made some openly skeptical comments about religion, including some in his autobiography. That might cause him trouble. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065.md?page=2)