California has Arnie. If things go as expected, one of the historically bloodiest countries in the world will have its own celebrity politician as George Weah, a superstar footballer in the 90s is expected to beat a handful of professional politicians and warlords in today's elections.

Jimmy Carter is overseeing the vote.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-10-10-voa17.cfm

Green Light is Given for Tuesday Liberia Election
By Nico Colombant

...

More than 700 candidates, including the wife of exiled former warlord and President Charles Taylor, Jewel Howard-Taylor, and another former warlord, Prince Johnson, are running for seats in a new two-chamber Congress.

Supporters of the apparent leading presidential candidate, former soccer star George Weah, have expressed concern over the existence of hundreds of thousands of extra blank ballots, but election officials have said this is a standard procedure where extra ballots are needed as a precautionary back-up. They have pledged the vote will be free and fair.

So you are saying Californians and Liberians are of equal political intellegence? I was unaware California had reached Liberia's level yet. Good for them.

Weah's an intelligent guy. Real gentleman too.

Maybe the guy can unite the county and be a good figurehead. Then appoint some really smart people to work alongside him. Not necessarily a bad thing.

The guy is a model of success and acheivement for the country. It isn't really comparable to Arnie. California is one of the most spohisticated economies in the world and electing a borderline retarded body bulder and barely talented actor was a joke.

Liberia is coming out of a period of great unrest and needs unity and national pride. Weah might be able to do it.

Anyone who's paid attention to Weah's history knows he's an intelligent, impassioned man who's always ready to stand up for his country. In the past, it was his national football team. They sucked, but he always went against club demands to put in his 100%.

If I had to make a comparison, it's be like Bob Marley running for Jamaican prime minister.

I didn't mean to insinuate that voting for Weah would be an equally intelligent decision as voting for Arnold was. I only invoked his name to make the broad, celebrity-based comparison.

Certainly, anything outside the status quo of brutal dictatorships, military coups and socially and ethnically based sectarian civil war would be a significant improvement. Hopefully Weah, or whoever is elected can bring that.

If they elected Arnold as president of Liberia, he could be Conan the Liberian

But more importantly... he scored that mad goal where got the ball in his own penalty box, beat 10 opposing players and slotted the ball home after a 90 yard run.