"The Predator" proves a political spawning ground
When the cast of "The Predator" gathered in the jungles of Mexico to make the sci-fi/action/horror flick during the spring of 1986, someone must have been offering a correspondence course in civics during down time.
So far, two of the film's actors have gone on to win governorships -- leading man Arnold Schwarzenegger, in California, and supporting performer Jesse Ventura, in Minnesota.
This year, two could by running for the U.S. Senate.
One is Ventura, who has been suggesting he may try to resurrect his political career by offering himself as an alternative in a race that already features Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken (himself an entertainment-industry refugee).
The other is Sonny Landham (who, though lesser known than Ventura, shared with him a doomed fate in "The Predator").
In Kentucky, Landham recently announced that he would start collecting petition signatures to qualify as the Libertarian Party candidate against Republican Mitch McConnell (the reigning Senate minority 
leader).
Landham, who also appeared in "48 Hours" (starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte), should qualify for the ballot. His chances of actually winning, of course, are about as good as were his prospects when he went up against that cinematic alien more than 20 years ago.
Still, at least one political observer in Kentucky believes Landham could have an impact on McConnell's reelection bid, as you can read about here (and also learn more about the actor's colorful past).
-- Don Frederick
Photo credits: 20th Century Fox (movie poster); Associated Press (Landham)
Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the 
Subscribe to this Blog
even by their own characterization, those people openly adhere to and display, convictions and aspirations, that are nothing less than opportunistic, and 'predatory.'
this is their choice. if, and when, people elect those self-appointed 'leaders' to 'represent' them, that is their choice: their informed consent to be abused, by those that would abuse. better choices are available, and easily affordable: all it takes is some integrity.
Posted by: dave | July 12, 2008 at 01:47 PM