<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has changed his political uniform from red to blue and is talking again about running for governor of Alabama, possibly in 2010."Alabama, that's my home. I'm thinking about running for governor; they need the help," Barkley said.His decision was received warmly by Joe Turnham, Alabama's Democratic Party chairman, but with skepticism by a political observer."I say welcome Charles Barkley. Charles Barkley has been a Horatio Alger story for many people, not only in sports but in business and broadcasting," Turnham said Wednesday.Turnham said he plans to contact Barkley and invite him to some events the party has coming up.Jim Seroka, a political science professor at Auburn University, said the former Auburn basketball star is getting ahead of himself by talking about possibly running without first building a base of support or looking at finances."He doesn't have any of the bases necessary to run a statewide campaign," Seroka said Wednesday.Barkley, a Leeds native, has been talking about running for governor of his home state since he was playing with the NBA's Phoenix Suns. In 1995, he said he was considering running in 1998 as a Republican but that never materialized.After that, Barkley continued to identify himself as a Republican until recently, when he switched to the Democratic team."I was a Republican until they lost their minds," he said earlier this month at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada."Sir Charles" reinforced that Tuesday while speaking to a convention of public school board members in Destin, Fla."What I've said is I'm rich like a Republican. But I'm not one," Barkley said in remarks reported by The Birmingham News.Barkley said his immediate goal is to get his 17-year-old daughter through high school and into college. Then he plans to decide on his future, including whether to run for governor of his home state."I really believe I was put on Earth to do more than play basketball and stockpile money," Barkley said. "I really want to help people improve their lives, and what's left is for me to decide how best to do that."Alabama's last Democratic governor, Don Siegelman, said Barkley has become a role model for many people and "would make an excellent candidate for high office."Siegelman noted that Barkley has the personal wealth to stage a strong campaign. "He's definitely going to be taken seriously," Siegelman said.Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, said Barkley was never involved with the state party when he identified himself as a Republican, and she has no idea whether he's serious when talking about a future race for governor as a Democrat."To be governor requires more than a publicity stunt. It requires real leadership," she said.In Barkley's remarks in Destin, he was not complimentary of Alabama's past leadership."If it wasn't for Arkansas and Mississippi, we'd be dead last in everything. I think we can do better," he said.Barkley told the school board members that poor children don't have a level playing field with wealthier students, because the poor children have to cope with more problems like crime, drugs and teen pregnancy. But he also admonished some black parents and their children."There are too many black kids and their parents who do not value a good education," he said. "There are places where a black kid who is a good student and tries to speak correctly, you hear stuff like, 'He's trying to be white.' Well, I say, if that's true, we need more kids trying to be white."</div>The Round Mound of Rebound a governer? That would be sweet in my opinion. I'm a Charles fan, this would probably mean his TNT days are over.
What's a governer? But yeah, I think Charles would be an awfully poor governor. I don't think he'll get voted into office, though. I mean, just in that article he probably alienated nearly all the people that would vote for him, so yeah. Also, I would not want someone who gambled away millions of dollars running my state government, even if they do not have a powerful governor.
Yeah Sir Charles would not work well as a governor, i saw him on PTI today. He wants to help the poor, ok nothing wrong with that, but he gave no ideas on how he would do it. I don't think he knows what he's in for. No way he gets voted in.
Yeah, I don't think anybody would be stupid enough to vote for him as governor. I don't think he has what it takes.... and besides, I think that he can help the poor without being in charge of a state.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Yeah, I don't think anybody would be stupid enough to vote for him as governor.</div>People were stupid enough to vote for Swarchzhenegger.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Hang Eleven @ Jul 30 2006, 04:18 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>People were stupid enough to vote for Swarchzhenegger. </div>That is so true but I don't know... Charles Barkley doesn't look like he could manage a whole state. He'd probably just do it to better his image and help the poor which he could do as a regular person, he doesn't have to be the mayor of Alabama to help the poor.
chuck as govenor? No way!! Remember when he bet Rodman that he would beat him in the rebounding race (in his rockets days) the loser was to wear a dress. Imagine him betting against arnie - he'd have the whole state wearing dresses or worse.......
No but seriously, why would anyone want him to be governor? I mean, is there something from his barely existent platform that attracts somebody? He basically alienated anyone. He said he dislikes the Republican party now, yet he is rich unlike Democrats. Good job Charles.There's a lot of reasons this isn't very much like Arnold's case.1. Arnold actually seemingly has political knowledge to some extent. The only thing Barkley said in that article was that he wanted to improve schools. Uh, okay... how?2. Arnold didn't waste $10 million on gambling (not that we know, anyway).3. Arnold was elected through a recall. If you didn't know, a recall has to be initiated by public signatures. They had to collect over 900,000 signatures to get a recall election to even take place. In a nutshell, I am telling you that California did not like their previous governor, Gray Davis. I'm not sure what the deal is in Alabama, but if there is an incumbent, then that lowers his chances a lot.4. The campaign for Arnold in California was genius. I mean, he announced that he was running on Leno. That's pretty bright, in my opinion.5. There were tons of candidates, which probably split the vote quite a bit.Well, maybe Charles can become somebody's tool within the next four years so that he can have some sort of political base, but I just don't understand why anyone would vote for him. Star power is meaningless. I don't want someone piloting my airplane because they are a star or performing heart surgery on me because they are a star. That's pure idiocy.
if he gets governor, there is something seriously wrong with the state of Alabama. He's a complete idiot, i honestly think i could do a better job.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Hang Eleven @ Jul 30 2006, 01:18 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>People were stupid enough to vote for Swarchzhenegger. </div>Swarchzhenegger is actually a pretty good governor,he has done a good job with taxes etc. I hope he gets re-elected.
C'mon Charles, you're doing fine with the TNT post-game, pre-game shows, you don't need to do this. And also you're not anywhere near qualafied to do this. He didn't even know he had to live in Alabama to run for governor. He's a great personality but this would just be a huge mistake I think. What the hell does this guy know about politics? This is the same guy once said to devout christian A.C. Green...."If A.C. thinks god is so great, why didn't god give him a jump shot"
Yeah "Hey AC, if god is real, why didn't he give you a fu*kin jumpshot?" Classic. And threw a guy out a 2nd story window and said "Too bad we weren't on a higher floor" or something like that.
