The Popcorn Stand: A climate change in politics

This is ‘snow’ joke (I couldn’t resist the pun). A former TV weatherman who legally changed his name to Meteorologist Drew Anderson said there’s a “100 percent” chance he’ll run for Congress in Pennsylvania under that name.

If I lived in Pennsylvania, I would vote for the guy. The only thing I would ask him to do is just run as “The Meteorologist.” That would be so cool if dignified news types with dignified names like Wolf Blitzer interviewed the guy and said, “And now joining us, The Meteorologist.”

And of course you know where I’m heading with this. If a movie was made about this guy, Nicolas Cage would be a natural fit to play him. After all, Cage has already been “The Weatherman,” an unforgettable performance I forgot I once watched which was right up there with his performance in “Valley Girl.” The name of the movie could be “The Meteorologist Goes to Washington.”

Anderson is looking to challenge Congressman Lloyd Smucker in the Republican primary. And of course he couldn’t resist saying his campaign theme is he’s looking for a climate change in Washington, D.C.

Now the Meteorologist against Smucker, that’s awesome. I’m sure Smucker’s campaign slogan is, “If it’s Smucker, it has to be good.”

I love when professionals change their names to fit their profession. I have no idea if this is actually the guy’s real name, but I thought it was awesome Chris Moneymaker was a world poker champion. I wrote before Moneymaker inspired me to think about changing my name to Charles Sportswriter when I was a sports editor at the time. Cage has also been in a movie called “Snake Eyes” (never saw that one) so he’s a natural fit to play Moneymaker as well.

Politics, gambling — and Nicolas Cage — seem to have a lot in common.

— Charles Whisnand