Story pick: Electing Young Boozer

It's silly season, by which I mean political season, by which I mean the midterm elections are on Tuesday. As a reader, I tend to avoid the serious political stories. We do them incredibly well at The Post -- it's our franchise, as is Redskins coverage, as is local news, as is Pulitzer Prizes for Gene Weingarten (2) -- but the political stories I tend to gravitate toward are the ones that celebrate the theater of it all. The more absurd, the better.

Last week, the Internet brought the world New York gubernatorial candidate Jimmy McMillan, who represents The Rent is 2 Damn High Party. Watch a video of his debate performance here.

This week, I can't stop chuckling at a Wall Street Journal story about the odd political names showing up on ballots this year. Young Boozer is running for state treasurer in Alabama. Isaac Hayes is running for an Illinois congressional seat. In Virginia, Krystal Ball is a candidate. Perhaps it's not surprising that the WSJ dug up four candidates with the last name Strange.

Why did I like this story so much? It made me smile. Newspapers don't make readers smile enough. We should put that on the list of things to do more of. Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, I will tune in to see if Young Boozer won.