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Wrestlers in the political arena

Posted: Jan 23rd 2008 By: mikeiles

I was watching MSNBC yesterday ? yes, I do watch more than just pro wrestling shows ? and I saw a clip of Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee giving a speech in South Carolina with none other than the ?Nature Boy? himself, Ric Flair, standing prominently behind him.

Flair is no stranger to politics. He is a staunch Republican and has appeared in the past at fund raisers for politicians such as President Bush and former North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms. Flair has said that he once even considered running for governor of North Carolina, but that he decided against it because he had too many skeletons in his closet.

I can see his point. It?s pretty common knowledge that Flair lived his wealthy playboy gimmick and always was the life of the party. The stories of Flair getting loaded at bars and dropping his pants have been told many times.

When I was working as the editor of WCW Magazine, I had a conversation with a young woman who worked in the office and her boyfriend, who was on the magazine staff. She was telling us how basically every woman who worked for WCW had seen Flair naked from the waist down in a bar at some point. She began telling us her own experience with Flair by saying, ?The first time I saw [him without his pants] ? ? Her boyfriend cut her off. ?What do you mean, ?the first time?? How many times were there?? he asked. ?Too many to count,? she replied.

It?s because of Flair?s notorious partying past that I?m surprised that Huckabee would want Flair standing anywhere near him on a podium. After all, Huckabee is an ordained minister and the candidate of choice for ?values voters.? I wonder if those voters know that Huckabee is being endorsed by a kiss-stealin', wheelin?-dealin' son of a gun??

The more I think about it, the more the Huckabee-Flair tag team just doesn?t make sense. Case in point: Flair was a member of Evolution; Huckabee doesn?t believe in evolution.

Flair isn?t the only pro wrestler who is publicly endorsing a candidate. Kane (Glen Jacobs) and Val Venis (Sean Morley) are backing Republican Ron Paul. This all got me to thinking about the presidential candidates and which pro wrestling figures seemed best-suited to endorse them.

Hillary Clinton-Vickie Guerrero: Both are strong women seeking power in male-dominated environments. Something else they have in common is that both of their husbands were more well-liked than them, even though the men were known to lie on occasion.

John Edwards-Dusty Rhodes: Edwards is the son of a millworker, while Rhodes is the son of a plumber. Although both emerged from blue-collar upbringings to become rich and famous, they never stopped being concerned about the plight of the common man.

Rudy Giuliani-Big Vito: They both are Italian and were born and raised in Brooklyn. Oh, and they also both enjoy wearing women?s clothes.

Mike Huckabee-Shawn Michaels, Sting or Ted DiBiase: Any of these wrestlers ? all born-again Christians ? would be better for Huckabee?s squeaky-clean image than Flair. Michaels might want to curb the crotch-chopping at campaign rallies, though.

Dennis Kucinich-Rob Van Dam: Kucinich is an advocate for the decriminalization of marijuana, so it would figure that Van Dam would be high on him.

John McCain-Ric Flair: The Senator from Arizona seems like a better candidate for Flair. Like ?The Nature Boy,? McCain is the oldest contender in the game, he?s had a distinguished career and he?s looking for one final run on top. Also like Flair, McCain got divorced and later married a much-younger woman. Woooo!

Barack Obama-Mr. Kennedy: Both have outstanding oratory skills and came out of nowhere to become big stars. The question surrounding them is whether they have enough experience to be the top guy in their respective fields. I?ve also heard some political pundits compare Obama to Kennedy. Oh, wait. That?s a different Kennedy.

Mitt Romney-Vince McMahon: They both have strong ties in New England and have done exceedingly well in business. While McMahon was acquiring other wrestling companies, Romney made his fortune by buying out many well-known businesses. Plus, they both are in fine shape and have tremendous heads of hair for men in their 60s.

Tags: Ric Flair, WCW, Dusty Rhodes, Sting, Ted DiBiase