Who could lead Texas?

The next governor of California could be Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The next U.S. Senator from Ohio could be Jerry Springer.

And Texas could be sucking hind teat for political celebrity oomph.

Gov. Rick Perry? Pffhhtt.

The average Texan on the street couldn't name him.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison? Political junkies -- and old timers who remember her from her days as a Channel 2 reporter in Houston -- know her, sort of, but she's not People magazine material.

And, quick, what's the name of the state's other senator?

Is there a Texan (native or otherwise) who could step to the fore to close the impending celebrity gap?

Who could raise the Lone Star to new political heights?

Willie Nelson?

Nolan Ryan?

Mickey Gilley?

Dan Rather?

Owen Wilson?

Dr. Phil?

Roger Staubach?

Bobby Knight?

Mike Judge?

Billy Gibbons?

A.J. Foyt?

George Strait?

Tommy Lee Jones?

Larry McMurtry?

The Dixie Chicks chick?

Marvin Zindler?

Anna Nicole Smith?

Yao Ming?

Bob Schieffer?

Don Meredith?

Sissy Spacek?

Earl Campbell?

Farrah Fawcett?

The possibilities, from Lance Armstrong to Jamie Foxx to Rene Zellweger, are almost too numerous for linkage.