Tom Laughlin, the actor better known as Billy Jack, has thrown his snakeskin-banded hat into the ring for President:

The 72-year-old actor, who lives in Camarillo, is one of 13 candidates running against President Bush in the Republican primary. Laughlin, who first ran for president as a Democrat in 1992, said he's campaigning to draw attention to a two-party system he deemed "so corrupt it can't function anymore."

He described himself as a "messenger" candidate and said he wasn't disappointed by the New Hampshire primary, in which he earned 154 votes to Bush's nearly 34,000.

For those of us who suffered through the terminally saccharine "Billy Jack", the thought of the New Age-ish Laughlin running as a Republican inspires chortles of incredulous glee. Why not run as a Democrat, like Laughlin did in 1992? I suppose the novelty wouldn't be noticed in a crowded Democratic primary, and he might have trouble distinguishing himself from Dennis Kucinich.

At least Laughlin is well prepared for his likely experience in this election cycle. Don't forget -- his first starring role was in "The Born Loser".

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