All in the line of duty for Arnold

We should have seen it coming when he first announced his candidacy on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." That is when it should have been apparent that Arnold Schwarzenegger was going to be the next governor of California.

While it may have come as a surprise to many, including former Gov. Gray Davis, it shouldn't have been. Arnold is just doing what all former athletes and movie stars are doing now. Once their first career choice is over, it's now time to serve the people.

Schwarzenegger joins a long list of athletes and famous personalities that have gone on to try and become a force for change in the government. With the likes of Ronald Reagan, Sonny Bono, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Clint Eastwood, J.C. Watts and Jack Kemp blazing a trail for him, how can Schwarzenegger go wrong?

However, out of all the athletes that have went on to work in the government sector, I am really not too impressed with any of them. None brought the same tenacity or grit to their elected office that I saw on the playing fields or courts. I don't know if Schwarzenegger will settle arguments with the state's top Democrats with a pose-off in the middle of Congress, but it would be interesting to see.

That is why I have chosen five athletes I feel should run for office. I think with their experience and backgrounds in professional sports, they could lead for many years to come.

5. Peyton Manning

With early exits from the NFL playoffs becoming a staple to his career, nobody would know more about failing when the pressure is on than Manning. I see him as the future vice-president of the United States. The VP never has to make any decisions and lets everybody else do the work for him when the pressure is on. That should save Manning a lot of grief. 4. Dennis Rodman

Dennis has shown an ability to change his appearances from one moment to the next. This is a skill that would serve him well as head of the CIA. Who would ever suspect that a 6-foot-10, tattooed spectacled man could pass for a female? But as Rodman has shown several times, he has no problem dressing up in a black miniskirt, a wedding dress or two-piece bikini. Either one would be the perfect disguise for infiltrating countries like Russia or Utah.

3. Tonya Harding

When she paid three goons to club Nancy Kerrigan and put her out of the 1994 Olympics, Harding showed a willingness to do anything to get the job done. That is why she would be a great choice as Sectary of Defense. Her stint on celebrity boxing when she beat down Paula Jones only adds to her resume.

2. Nate Newton

When the former Dallas Cowboy was picked up and arrested for transporting 213 pounds of marijuana, he automatically became the leading candidate for the head of the Department of Agriculture. But he won the position hands down when a month after he was released, Newton was arrested again. This time he had 175 pounds of the illegal substance. That's persistence. You can bet he would try everything in his power to make sure every crop in America is harvested and gotten a good price for. And at 6-foot-3, 360 pounds, I doubt anyone would argue.

1. Mike Tyson 2. With Iron Mike in charge of Homeland Security, you can be sure no one will ever make a move on the United State again. Just the threat of sending Tyson over to another country when he is off his medication will put fear into anybody, except Lennox Lewis.

In fact, I would name Mike as the Press Secretary for any president that wanted to keep his business from leaking out.

In an interview with ESPN, Tyson answered a female reporter's question about Lennox Lewis saying he normally doesn't do interviews with women unless he fornicates with them first.

If that wouldn't keep the media back, I don't know what would.