Texas Governor's race

This article states that the independent candidate for governor of Texas, Kinky Friedman, can use his nickname of "Kinky" instead of his given name of Richard on the voting ballot. Well, I breathed a sigh of relief. ;-)

Actually, I'm glad that they are going to allow it, because that's how everyone knows him; as Kinky Friedman. And now that both he and Carole Keeton Strayhorn are officially on the ballot as independents, this just might shape up to be one heckuvan innerestin' governor's race.

I still feel that it's Rick Perry's election to lose --he just has to keep from doing anything stupid and the election is pretty much in the bag. Here's how I feel the other three candidates shape up:

* Chris Bell - candidate for the Democratic Party. Long, long shot to win. For Bell to win, all three other candidates will have to do something so bad and so wrong and in so dramatic and spectacular a way that he is the only viable alternative left. He's the guy that is equivalent to an NFL football team on the bubble of making it into the playoffs that needs a complex set of actions that need to occur first. He'll be lucky to be third in the final tally of votes. This is not his fault, but rather that of the perception of the Democratic Party, which does not have a great deal of appeal in Texas.

* Kinky Friedman - independent. Not as long a shot, but still long; largely because he acts like such a goofball most of the time that it won't be easy for voters to take his candidacy seriously. Even if the voters take his candidacy seriously, they may not think that he'll take the governorship seriously should he win the election. Right now, Friedman needs to battle this perception, and the sooner, the better. This is not to say that he needs to lose his sense of humor, but rather that he needs to learn how to use his humor more effectively so that it helps his campaign instead of reinforcing his "goofy" reputation.

* Carole Keeton Strayhorn - independent. Of the three, she has the best chance of unseating Perry. However, she'll have to convince the voters that she can be more than "not-Perry". Plus, she has a reputation of a large ego. She'll need to sell her ability to do the job as governor, and she would also benefit from a Perry gaffe, and the bigger the gaffe, the better for her. She has to play all her cards right and take advantage of all the help that comes her way; in short, she needs nothing less than a brilliant campaign, and even then, it might not be enough --but people don't run for office to lose, so she needs to adopt that mindset so that it comes through in her public appearances.