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From Politics AP:

Springer to File Papers for U.S. Senate

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, Associated Press Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Jerry Springer, the talk show host who put wife-swappers, strippers and skinheads on the air and then watched the punches fly, will file papers to run for the U.S. Senate as early as Friday, advisers said.

Springer, 59, the former Cincinnati mayor, will not decide whether to actually run until later this month, said Mike Ford, his political adviser.

The early filing is necessary to avoid getting into legal trouble for raising money without officially declaring a candidacy, Ford said.

Springer is airing 30-minute infomercials across the nation to raise money and build support for his possible run for the Democratic nomination next year.

The infomercial, paid for by Springer, is part biography and part fund-raiser. It explains how Springer's parents fled Nazi Germany for England, then moved to the United States just before Springer's fifth birthday. The ad seeks small donations and offers T-shirts, bumper stickers and CDs of Springer singing "rockabilly" music.

The infomercial will air for about two weeks in several U.S. cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Tenn., New Orleans, San Antonio and New York. Ford would not say how much it cost.

It was not immediately scheduled to air in Ohio because of concerns over equal access, meaning TV stations would have to offer equivalent time to other candidates.

The infomercial also addresses potential problems by Springer's talk show, known for its profanity, fistfights, cheating spouses and incestuous relationships.

Springer repeats a theme he has voiced several times in recent months — that his show is not responsible for problems in Ohio with schools, jobs and the economy.

The infomercial focuses on a comment by National Review commentator Jonah Goldberg on a Sunday morning talk show several months ago. Goldberg warned of new people brought to the polls by Springer, including "slack-jawed yokels, hicks, weirdos, pervs and whatnots."

The infomercial offers that quote on a T-shirt and inserted into a signed photograph of Springer next to a sign for Hicksville, Ohio. Springer refers to the quote and talks about wanting to reach out to "regular folks ... who weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth."

State Sen. Eric Fingerhut, a Democrat, has already announced his candidacy for the Senate seat. The Democratic winner will probably take on Republican Sen. George Voinovich.

"A half-hour infomercial doesn't wipe out what he's been doing for a decade," Fingerhut said Thursday. "All it does tragically is identify Ohio with his level of entertainment."
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On the Net:

Jerry Springer campaign: www.runjerryrun.com

Fingerhut campaign: http://www.fingerhutforsenate.com

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From CNN.com's 'In the Crossfire':

Next on 'Jerry Springer': A Senate run?

WASHINGTON (CNN) --Jerry Springer changed the face of daytime television with a talk show that continues to push the limits. Could Springer, a former mayor of Cincinnati, one day be a U.S. senator from Ohio?

The talk-show host, a Democrat, has said he'll decide by summer whether to challenge Sen. George Voinovich, a Republican, in 2004.

Springer stepped into the "Crossfire" on Friday with hosts Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson to discuss his political ambitions.

CARLSON: Let me just say right off the top I think it's a great idea that you run for Senate. You're more qualified than a lot of people I've covered. And I hope you win.

SPRINGER: I don't know that I'm running, but anyway ...

CARLSON: I'm struck, whether you are or whether you're not, by the response of some of your fellow Democrats. Not nice. I want to read you a quote from [Senate Minority Leader] Tom Daschle.

He said this on CNN the other day, "Springer wouldn't be my first choice for Senate. I understand he was a mayor at one point, but I think we can do a lot better than that, and I'm sure Ohio will."

Keep in mind this is a man for whom [former Sen.] Bob Torricelli [of New Jersey] was good enough. How does that make you feel?

SPRINGER: Yes. Well, he may be right. And if we can find someone in Ohio in the Democratic Party that will espouse the point of view from millions of people that are not heard in government, then that's great.

I don't need the job. I'm happy where I am. I have a good life. Being a United States senator isn't going to make me rich. It isn't going to make me famous. I honestly care about certain things. And if no one else is going to run and represent that point of view, then I'll do it. That's the point.

I hope one day Tom Daschle will get to like and respect me. But if he doesn't, that's not my problem.

CARLSON: I can promise you if he thinks you're going to win, he'll be very nice to you.

BEGALA: Let me ask you about something. ... One of our audience members brought this up. Years ago in Cincinnati, you got in trouble, and it was in the papers that you used a check to pay for a prostitute. I'm wondering how are you going to make the transition to Washington, where the politicians are the prostitutes? Are you going to be able to figure that sort of change out?

SPRINGER: ... No, well, that was 35 years ago. I apologized a million times for it. It's not relevant.

The issue is not going to be whether or not I can be taken seriously. The issue in America really is whether millions and millions of Americans take their politicians seriously. The government is not responding to their needs. Whether we're talking about health care, whether we're talking about jobs or whether we're talking about the insanity of going to war when we really have a war right now against terrorism. ...

And no one, not the Democrats or the Republicans, are asking the question, "How is bombing Baghdad a remedy to stopping the use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons?"

CARLSON: I must say, just to back up, I must disagree with you when you say the question is not can you be taken seriously. If you run for office, the question will indeed be -- can you be taken seriously? I want to give you an example. ...

SPRINGER: Will we get to talk about Iraq in moment? Because that's honestly going to be more important.

CARLSON: In the next segment. But your biography is important to any run that you might begin. ...

I'm going to read you some of the topics on your show. "My Boyfriend Is a Girl," "Your Lover Is Mine," "Mistresses Attack!" "My Brother Is My Lover!" "I Didn't Know My Fiancee is a Stripper," "What I Did For Revenge," and, of course, "Police Psychics Look For Missing Children."

Look, the point is, you probably know a lot about transgender issues, but I think the average voter is going to say, what else do you know about and why should I believe you know much about it at all?

SPRINGER: That's a fair question. That's fair ... and if I decide to run, if I am not able to convey a point of view that relates and touches the people in that community and the state and express a point of view that they want to espouse, if I'm not able to do it, then I shouldn't be elected. If people are voting just on the show, I should get no votes. That's going to depend on how good a candidate I am.

CARLSON: Isn't there a knowledge question at some point. People are going to say, "Look, if you haven't been in politics in 20-odd years, how do you know for instance how to run a government?"

SPRINGER: Well, you know what, if that's right, it's going to be so obvious during the course of the campaign. But I am prepared to discuss the issues as they relate to the people of Ohio. They're going to judge. That's what this whole system is about.

This isn't about a reward for Jerry Springer. Who the hell cares whether Jerry Springer gets a job or not? That isn't about me. Our country is in trouble, and there are people who think our politics is a bunch of crap, to be honest. They don't think the government relates to them at all.

On these Sunday morning talk shows, all these wonderful, educated people sit around, and they smugly make jokes and talk about how wonderful life is for them. And people wonder why the great mass of Americans don't watch those shows. Why? It doesn't relate to them.

Ever since I was a child, people have been talking about, by God our government, we're going to have health insurance for all our citizens. They still can't get it done.

Why doesn't America go on strike and say, "Damn it, you have four years to give every American health insurance, or you're out of office. We're going to fire all of you. Democrat, Republican, we'll just fire you." Why can't they get that done? That's their job.

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AP Senate Elections:

Talk Show Host Springer Files for Senate

By MALIA RULON, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Jerry Springer, the talk show host whose nationally syndicated program often spotlighted strippers and skinheads, officially filed papers on Monday to run for the U.S. Senate from Ohio.

The Senate clerk received the statement of candidacy and organization for the "Jerry Springer for U.S. Senate" committee on Monday afternoon, according to a spokesman at the clerk's office. The documents were sent by certified mail last week.

Springer, the former mayor of Cincinnati, will make a final decision on whether to run by the end of the month. State Sen. Eric Fingerhut has already announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination and the right to challenge first-term Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, who served as governor of Ohio from 1991-99.

Voinovich, who won in 1998 with 57 percent of the vote, is considered a formidable candidate.

Springer, 59, filed the papers to avoid possible legal problems for airing a 30-minute fund-raising infomercial starting this Thursday, according to Mike Ford, Springer's political adviser.

The infomercial, paid for by Springer, is part biography and part fund-raiser. It explains how Springer's parents fled Nazi Germany for England, then moved to the United States just before Springer's fifth birthday. The ad seeks small donations and offers T-shirts, bumper stickers and CDs of Springer singing "rockabilly" music.

The infomercial will air for about two weeks in several U.S. cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Tenn., New Orleans, San Antonio and New York. Ford would not say how much it cost.

It was not immediately scheduled to air in Ohio because of concerns over equal access, meaning TV stations would have to offer equivalent time to other candidates.

Springer has made appearances across Ohio during the last several months as he decides whether to become a candidate.

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From AP Entertainment:

Cantwell: Springer Would Be Fine Senator

SEATTLE - Sen. Maria Cantwell says tabloid television talk show host Jerry Springer would make a fine senator for Ohio.

"I think people will be surprised by his intellect," the Washington state Democrat told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "There's much more to him than his TV show. He's an incredibly smart person."

Springer, 59 and once mayor of Cincinnati, filed papers on Monday to run for the U.S. Senate.

He will not decide whether to actually run for the Democratic nomination until later this month, said Mike Ford, his political adviser.

Cantwell, Washington state's junior senator, was an unpaid volunteer for Springer's successful run for Cincinnati mayor in 1977. In 1982, she worked as a paid member of his campaign when he lost his bid for governor of Ohio.

"He's a policy wonk," Cantwell told the P-I, being careful to note that her opinion is based on his political career, not his fame as a talk show host whose nationally syndicated show has featured strippers and skinheads.

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From Reuters Entertainment:

Talk Show Host Jerry Springer Skips Senate Run

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - Picking his TV show featuring brawling transvestites over the rough and tumble of politics, talk show host Jerry Springer on Wednesday declared he would not make a run for the U.S. Senate from Ohio.

"As long as I'm doing that show ... my message, no matter how sincere and no matter how heartfelt, does not get through to the people I need to reach," Springer, 59, told reporters.

"The only way for a Democrat to win in Ohio is to be able to reach out to those two-and-a-half million Ohioans who right now don't relate to either political party, who think it's all a bunch of bull, who see government as not responsive to their needs," Springer said.

For months, the former TV anchorman, City Council member and mayor of Cincinnati, and 13-year ringleader of the syndicated daytime slugfest, has traversed Ohio in search of political support and alliances to take on Republican Sen. George Voinovich.

The London-born, New York-raised Springer hoped to exhort the same politically disaffected audience that catapulted former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura into the Minnesota governor's mansion five years ago.

Asked why he did not quit "The Jerry Springer Show" to provide the separation he said he needed to make the race, the multimillionaire Springer said his contract did not expire until May.

"I'm hired to do a show about dysfunctional relationships, and I defy you to watch my show and say it's not dysfunctional," he said.

"It has to be a political race and not (about) three transvestites and a midget on yesterday's show -- and it was a good show," he cracked.

Springer declined to say whether he would consider becoming a candidate in two years and, noting state poll numbers showing a majority of residents view him unfavorably, suggested a possible role for himself.

"If the Democrats think it would be helpful, I would endorse (President) Bush."

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