SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
There are many more people running for president in the United States than we hear about - obviously, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Bernie Sanders, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Marco Rubio and more than 900 others. As of yesterday, 935 candidates had filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.
Among those citizens who want to have the power to grant pardons, turn on the national Christmas tree and call the winning coach of the Super Bowl is Eric Cartman, like the "South Park" character, Captain Crunch, like the cereal, and an unaffiliated candidate who goes by the name of Me Have Sex With - now there's a slogan.
Many states require a petition or registration fee, so that'll cut down on the number who actually make it onto the ballot. A number of candidates seem to be cats. Cats rarely make it to the age of 35, as the Constitution requires of a presidential candidate.
One candidate who's attracted attention is Deez Nuts. Despite - but maybe because - he's a 15-year-old from Iowa, young Mr. Nuts is shown as polling 10 percent in North Carolina. I wonder if Deez Nuts, running against Captain Crunch, is related to Grape Nuts. A lot of Bushes and Kennedys run for office, why not Nuts? Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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