Governor Perles?

MSU Trustee George Perles, the former head football coach, has been rumored for a while to be thinking about running for governor. According to a report in the Free Press, Perles has decided to go for it.

I know what you're probably thinking, and no, this is not a joke. Perles, a registered Democrat, actually has experience as a statewide elected official, as he was the top vote-getter when he won election to the Board in 2006. He's a successful entrepreneur, having founded the Motor City Bowl, and is probably one of the five best-known politicians in Michigan.

Of course, there are several difficulties standing in his way. For one, almost the entire Democratic establishment has lined up behind Lt. Gov. John Cherry. Those who haven't are generally fans of state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith.

Then there's the fact that, in order to win a Democratic primary, one typically has to do well in Ann Arbor, where Perles is about as popular as Rich Rodriguez is in East Lansing. And even if he got through that, he'd run into the winner of perhaps the strongest Republican primary field in years - Attorney General Mike Cox, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra are among the favorites.

Now, I don't know what chance Perles has - but he did get MSU to a Rose Bowl, so I suppose anything's possible.