If Jesse Ventura wasn’t bad enough, now it seems as though government is becoming overrun with Hollywood stars. Well, that is if you consider wrestlers stars.

I will admit that I think Arnold Schwarzenegger is doing a fairly decent job as governor of California. Maybe not so much as an actor anymore, but I am not a film critic. Although he married into a political family of another party, he at least was given some direction. So, looking at Sonny Bono for instance, he had no political experience before he ran for mayor and moved up the ranks to the Senate, but hey, at least he learned the job and then worked himself up. He, like many other actor-politicians, had little respect, especially at first, from other politicians. Even Ronald Reagan made it from the big screen to the presidency. Is this just another role for actors to play? Well, maybe it is time to throw another popular group into the mix.

Maybe you know what I am getting at here. In the Illinois Republican U.S. Senate race, Jack Ryan, for reasons we all know at this point, dropped out. So who to pick? Well, the first big name was Jim Edgar, but he is campaigning for Ron Summers, who is running for state Senate. A couple of other names were thrown around, but now the big name is Da Coach, otherwise known as Mike Ditka, ex-coach of the Chicago Bears.

Ditka, who was quoted in 2000 as saying that the W in George W. Bush, stands for women because women want a man for President, is now considering running for U.S. Senate. He will be an awfully busy man, considering his new clothing line will be coming out soon, he owns a restaurant and he is an NFL analyst for ESPN. Ditka is also following the likes of U.S. Sen. Bob Dole by endorsing an impotence drug (not Viagra, but Levitra). Now add U.S. Senator to the lineup and that is one huge disaster in my eyes.

So I wonder what the job application would look like if Ditka had to fill one out to run. Under previous experience or qualifications would he list former NFL player and coach? How would he explain his outbursts on the field; would he do that in the Senate? Maybe he could submit a tape of the super fans from “Saturday Night Live” to show that people supported him as a coach.

I find it hard to believe that many of these famous actors and icons have much knowledge of various areas of government. I understand Ditka is conservative. Great for him, but where does he stand? What education did he receive regarding government? If he is actually considering this, the public should know his views. For example, everyone else is coming out about how they feel on gay marriage. Wonder what Ditka thinks?

So let’s say that it comes down to a Mike Ditka, R-Chicago, vs. Barack Obama D-Chicago. This could make the Democrats shake a little with such a symbol running for the Senate seat. Chicago may go to Coach, but hopefully the rest of the state would see through the masquerade. Ditka would be a talking head for the Republican party and more than likely another embarrassment to the state (kind of like the Bears today).

Arla is a senior in journalism. My Way or the Highway appears every other Wednesday. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the DAILY EGYPTIAN.