Sometimes the jokes write themselves...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Jerry Springer, the talk show host who put wife-swappers, strippers and skinheads on the air and then watched the punches fly, will file papers to run for the U.S. Senate as early as Friday, advisers said.

Springer, 59, the former Cincinnati mayor, will not decide whether to actually run until later this month, said Mike Ford, his political adviser.

The early filing is necessary to avoid getting into legal trouble for raising money without officially declaring a candidacy, Ford said.

Springer is airing 30-minute infomercials across the nation to raise money and build support for his possible run for the Democratic nomination next year.


Will Maury Povich take on George W. Bush? What about nominating Oprah to the Supreme Court? Hey, if an action hero, steroid gobbler from Austria can run for governor of California, what's wrong with a sleazeball like Springer who paid a prostitute with a check when he was mayor of Cincinnati returning to public service?

And people wonder why S.A.T. scores keep dropping.

We speculated about this earlier here Jerry Springer running 2004, C-Span ratings to shoot up.

The inititing link is dead, so please feel free to carry the debate on here.

Jerry Springer Bio

He's qualified so i think he should run & get elected

Jerry's a good guy... for a Democrat... and is a common sense kind of liberal with some libertarian leanings, which puts him a cut above the average Democrat. Also he's actually qualified having been Mayor of Cincinnati before he did the show. No reason he shouldn't be taken seriously as a candidate, though having done that show does give him an image problem he'll have to overcome. I wish him luck -- though not enough luck to beat a hopefully libertarian Republican, or even a libertarian-leaning conservative Republican.

Ah, but he will be running against George Voinivich, former Governor of Ohio. THE george Voinivich who stalled the tax cuts by putting a hard cap on the number ($350 billion over 10 years, how paltry )

I think Voinivich will have some problems, but is still reasonably popular.

Springer, the name and reputation are going to be hard to overcome in Conservative circles, but will probably help him get out the vote in the overwhelmingly Democrat-voting big cities.

It will be interesting.

BTW, Cincinnati is a pretty conservative city, so his politics can't be all that left-wing.

I don't think you can compare Jerry Springer to Oprah and all the others just because he stars on Sleaze TV.

He was a very well read and informed news anchor in Cincinnati and the mayor.

Along with forcing confrontations among the inbred, ducking chairs from jilted lovers, and covering up the breasts of 810 pound women, he has served in public office.

Personally, I wouldn't vote for him, but I don't think he's any less credible than any lawyer running for office.

Well, quite. For that matter, why bar Springer if a convicted drink-driver, ex-alcoholic and suspected ex-coke abuser can get into the White House?

I haven't had a TV in over a year and probably saw Jerry Springer a half dozen times just for sheer shock value (the remote dropped from my hand and I couldn't get my eyes unglued to the TV.)

If you will notice how he acts during the show he is laughing his *** NOTICE: THIS WORD IS AGAINST THE RULES. FAILURE TO REMOVE IT WILL RESULT IN A STRIKE. *** of the inside and just enjoying the fact that he's getting paid to laugh at people like that! He is not on camera much. It's about the money and the ratings for him here. He was doing his job... entertaining.

The other talk shows are lame... at least with Jerry you could laugh at some really absurd put ons and just relax. It wasn't all serious and sob stories.

I think he has a chance especially if people realize that he was not the king of sleaze as a person but just giving the public what they wanted.

O.

If Springer can get elected, maybe it is time to move to Australia or someplace.....
Altho I suppose they have their share of wingnuts as well.

It will be a sad day in America when Mr. Springer gets elected to the Senate. Granted, I'm sure his crimes are no more heinous than a lot of other Senators.... but still. This guy is slime.

--cheers

That's what i love about America. Even the weirdest of characters can become elected officials.

But you have to admit, both Arnold & Jerry have the right college education to pull off being elected officials

Well, when you compare Jerry Springer with some of the nitwits, half-wits and dim bulbs currently clogging up Capitol Hill with sleaze and grandstanding, he certainly won't lower the intellectual level of the joint.

It would just be hard for anyone to say with a straight face about Senator Springer, "I respectfully object with the distinguished gentleman from Ohio..."

The man's show is disgraceful. It appeals to the lowest common denominator of this society. He is not embarrassed by televising outrageous antics by even more outrageous people, be they actors or the gen-u-wine article. (Imagine his shows if bear-baiting and dog fights were legal!) Should make for an interesting campaign, especially at mud-slinging time.

Maybe he'll get out the inbred vote.

This is only an interjection of opinion, and not a well researched answer. I recall my initial reaction to the news that Springer was planning to run for Senate. I could only imagine two groups of people likely to vote for Jerry Springer.

The first group would be his loyal viewers.

The second group would be the voters who would realize this was a way to get his show off the air.

I read this humerous article about the Springer campaign.

Jerry & Me

Jonah Goldberg's writing is so tongue-in-cheek. I think he is hilarious.

BUT, he makes good points about who would be likely to vote for Springer, as opposed to a "mainstream" Democratic candidate.

I like what he said on GMA:

"You can say what you want about my show ... but it's never ... taken us to war."

Sounds like a pretty typical Democratic Party candidate for office to me. He raises money on the Internet, Howard Dean raises money on the Internet. So what's the big deal?

I think it would be a great shot in the arm for U.S. politics if he were elected to the Senate! Imagine a debate with him...

Springer: So Mr. President, are you saying that you had no knowledge that the evidence you presented to the american people were false?

Bush: Well, what I mean to say is, from a certain point of view...

Springer: okay?.... .... Well, we have someone waiting in chambers that we brought in without your knowledge to confront you....Let's bring out Bush Sr!

Bush Sr: God#@*%& son! Your gonna mess everything up!

*everyone in the Senate floor starts booing!*



In other words, it'd be a bad episode of Saturday Night Live!
Springers a joke!

I fail to see how Jerry Springer is any less of a shameless media whore than any other political officeholder today. If anything, his complete lack of ethics, fine sense of spectacle, and propensity for appealing to the baser aspects of the American population makes him an ideal political leader in today's media-saturated government. All show and no substance. I'd vote for him.

No democrat has one the presidency in like 40 years that wasn't supported by Ohio. I think my state only votes for the Dems we know are going to win because we tend to have ones like Jerry Springer and James Traficant. They always seem to go to jail for some kind of scandal here.

I have no idea how anybody could possibly consider this foul person for any elected office. I certainly wouldn't want him representing me or my country and to be honest, I would prefer if his viewers abstained from voting as well.