Ditka?

I cannot believe that anyone is taking seriously the idea that Mike Ditka would be a good Senate candidate from Illinois. Yes, he's beloved in the state. But people are not morons. They know the difference between footbal-coach skils and Senator skills. They won't love Mike Ditka any less if they understand that he's perhaps not the best fit for the U.S. Senate, especially against Barak Obama.

People like Ditka, who have been the kings of their little fiefdoms for their entire adult lives, are almost always disastrous candidates. It's always something, some quirk in their past, an unwillingness to not blurt out prejudices, resistance to advice, short temper, that dooms these campaigns, whether it is sports figures or businessmen. Illinois has already gone through two such characters, in Jack Ryan and the one-time Democratic primary front-runner Blair Hull.

Comments

[Nick Beaudrot]

After Jesse Ventura and Arnold I am never underestimating the power of a celebrity candidate again.

[Out in Washington, we keep trying to get Chris Novoselic of Nirvana -- who has been politically active for many years locally -- to run for some sort of office.]

[Efficient Frontier]

Perhaps you've heard of Arnold. Difference between actor skills and governor skills: check. King of little fiefdom: check. Elected governor: check.

[Hack]

True, but both Gropenfuhrer and Ventura benefited from oddball elections. And governor is a more appropriate job for the king of a little fiefdom, as they are just becoming king of a larger fiefdom.