This is the question I’ve been asking myself, since the former NFL hero for the Pittsburgh Steelers announced his desire to be Governor of the state of Pennsylvania.

So I went to Lynn Swann’s official campaign site. Hoping to find some information, that would show him to be qualified for the job. Bottom line is that I found nothing but a bunch of hype! His “about” page mentions that he is on the board of directors of 3 major companies. If there was a board of governors acting as the chief executive of PA, this might make Lynn qualified to be on a state’s board of governors, but no such body exists! As governor Lynn would be responsible for running things himself.

So what about things Mr. Swann has done for the people of Pennsylvania? His “about” page says nothing about anything of value that he’s done specifically for the people of that state. Sure he’s done various fitness, mentoring and charity related things, but nothing that represented the entire state. In CA, although I wanted McClintock to win in the race for Governor. When Arnold Schwarzenegger ran, he could at least say that he pushed for ballot initiatives in that state. I’m not saying that a person running for any office has to have held a lower public office, but I am saying that you’ve got to show me something better than some Super Bowl rings. Lynn Swann is not running for Lt. Governor, he wants to be the Governor. When Michael Steele decided to run for the US Senate, he was able to say that he is that state’s Lt. Governor. When Herman Cain ran for US Senate in GA, never holding an office before, he was able to refer to his great success running a business. To me, running a business relates to politics much better than running on a football field. If Lynn Swann wanted to be a district US Congressman, mayor or something of that sort I might better understand. But Governor of a large state?

I like Lynn Swann’s values. He appears to be a great father and head of his household. But he’s going to need more skills in the way of large scale management to effectively run an entire state. If I was still living in the state of PA, I would look for a Conservative candidate that can bring some more experience to the table. (I lived in PA for a few years before my move to GA.)

And yea he’s Black. So some people think that’s a reason to vote for him. To anyone thinking that, I say to you that America already has enough under qualified Black people running American cities and representing people in Congress. So no matter what the race of the person, if they don’t have the skills they will still look terrible in the end, no matter how much “history” they make. Not to mention the condition they leave things in after leaving. Being Black myself I would prefer that when a Black person makes history they are qualified and have a higher probability of a legacy of success.

So I say Lynn Swann is a great guy, but he has not shown me anything yet that will result in me giving him support in the Republican primary. If after the primaries he is the only Conservative in the field of candidates, I would only support him because an inexperienced Conservative is still better than a Liberal with any level of experience. (And being an Independent, when I lived in PA I could not vote in the primaries. Unlike some other Independent Conservatives, I never have been part of a political party.)

I think this article sums it up best:

The Political Teen has audio of an interview Sean Hannity had with Mr. Swann.