The King of Pop makes his first foray into electoral politic
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Michael Jackson Wants to Be Startin’ Something
The King of Pop makes his first foray into electoral politics.
WEB-EXCLUSIVE SATIRE
By Andy Borowitz
Special to Newsweek
Updated: 7:32 p.m. ET Oct 3, 2006
Oct. 3, 2006 - In a stunning development that could radically alter the electoral landscape in the upcoming midterm congressional elections, the singer Michael Jackson announced today that he would run for the seat vacated last Friday by former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.).
Jackson told reporters that he had never shown much interest in politics before, but added, "When I started reading about Mark Foley, I realized that the House of Representatives was my kind of place."
The platinum-selling recording artist drew big crowds in his first day of campaigning, delighting onlookers in Orlando by getting out of his limo and dancing on its roof.
But in one regrettable gaffe for the novice politician, Jackson kissed a baby in Daytona Beach and then dangled the child from a hotel balcony.
"My bad," Jackson later said.
House Republicans expressed muted support for Jackson's election bid, with Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert saying that he knew of nothing in the singer's past that would prevent him from serving ably in the House.
"Michael Jackson has done a lot of positive things, especially in the field of mentoring," Hastert said.
According to Buddy Schlantz, a veteran talent agent and observer of the entertainment scene, transforming himself from King of Pop to congressman from Florida could prove to be a shrewd image makeover for the tabloid-ready Jackson.
"In the outside world, Michael Jackson seems weird and maybe even a freak," Schlantz said. "But once he's in Congress he'll seem perfectly normal."
Elsewhere, in Stockholm, the Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to Barry Bonds.
© 2006 Newsweek, Inc.
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