THIS JUST IN from investigative reporter Andy Borowitz:
Candidates to Outnumber Voters in ’08
One in Two Americans Running for President, Experts SayFor the first time in American history, the number of Americans running for president in 2008 will actually be greater than the number of Americans voting for president, electoral experts said today.
With politicians throwing their hats in the ring at a torrid pace, by November of 2008 one out of every two Americans is expected to be running for the nation’s highest office – an extraordinary figure by any measure.
While the negative tone of recent election campaigns have turned off voters in record numbers, the appeal of being the world’s most powerful person has never been greater, causing the two trend lines to cross.
In the last week alone, Senators Hillary Clinton (D-New York), Barack Obama (D-Illinois), and Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) have established exploratory committees, but so have some 40,000 other Americans, according Carol Foyler, executive director of the Committee on Exploratory Committees.
Ms. Foyler said that the sharp increase in the number of Americans yearning to be president can be credited to President George W. Bush, “who makes the job look like fun.�
“In the past, Presidents have had to seek the approval of Congress and obey the Constitution,� Ms. Foyler said. “President Bush has shown that you don’t have to do that.�
The fact that over 140 million Americans are expected to run for president in 2008 does not deter most aspirants, Ms. Foyler said, explaining, “Most of them still have a better shot than Kucinich.�
There’s more so read the whole thing. And check out Borowitz’s latest so-silly-it-must-be-real book:
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.