NEW YORK – Though the election is not until November 2006 and Richard "Kinky" Friedman (search) can't start collecting signatures to run as an independent for the Texas governor's post until March 2006, he has plenty to keep him busy until then.
Friedman, a musician who claims country legend Willie Nelson (search) as one of his best friends, has just finished writing his 18th mystery novel, "Ten Little New Yorkers."
"It was ghost-written by Mary Higgins Clark. She ghost-writes all my work," he deadpanned.
Friedman told FOX News that he is launching a "spiritual" campaign rather than a political campaign for governor, but has not yet gotten flak from groups that would oppose mixing politics with spirituality.
Some of his platform planks are to legalize gambling to pay for education, abolish political correctness in the Texas Legislature, require buses and trucks registered in the state to run on biodiesel fuels, appoint Nelson as head of the Texas Rangers (search), build a fence along the border with Mexico and appoint his Palestinian hairstylist as Texas ambassador to Israel. The stylist, Farouk Shami, already is Friedman's campaign chairman.
"Farouk knows more about the Palestinians and the Israelis — and he and I have 'Farouk and Friedman's Olive Oil,' which comes from his family's groves," said Friedman, who is Jewish and led the 1970s band "Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys." He added that all the proceeds go to Israeli and Palestinian children affected by the conflict in the Middle East.
Asked how he would bring the state house into order, Friedman responded, "How hard could it be? This is not a difficult job."
Click in the box near the top of the story to watch an interview with Richard "Kinky" Friedman.
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