Sir Governor Charles?

Charles Barkley, former NBA basketball star, has decided to run for the Governor of Alabama in the year 2010 on the Democratic ticket. Barkley who is from Leeds, Alabama feels that he "was put on Earth to do more than play basketball and stockpile money, I really want to help people improve their lives, and what's left is for me to decide how best to do that."

Barkley has been talking about this political move since the mid-1990's when he was playing for the Phoenix Suns. For the majority of the time, Barkley had been announcing his Republican standpoint, but has recently decided to switch over to the Democratic side. This raises an eyebrow to the switch. Alabama Governor Bob Riley has done an amazing job in the eyes of many Alabamians and this could result in Barkley not having a chance as the main Republican candidate could be that of Luther Strange who has been endorsed by Riley according to the Huntsville Times (7/25/06). Thus, the switch to the Democratic side where chances are he would be a "slam dunk" compared to the other Democrats who are considered to be front-runners for the Democratic party.

According to an Auburn University political science professor, Jim Seroka, "He doesn't have any of the bases necessary to run a statewide campaign." Maybe Barkley does not realize he is "shooting" for a position that has had more of its' fair share of scandals in the past.

If you are unaware of the state of Alabama, two of the last four people elected to the office have been served with criminal convictions. Most recently, former Governor Don Siegelman was convicted of government corruption while Guy Hunt was forced to step down in 1993 when he was convicted of an ethics violation. Benji Bulter, a student at the University of Alabama-Huntsville was quoted as saying, "If he [Barkley] is elected, moving to Georgia might be a better alternative than being Governed by a man who couldn't win a Championship in the NBA."