With shootings and politics all that’s reported in the news lately, I forget that sometimes there are stories that can make me smile. And when I heard that Charles Barkley is planning to run for governor of Alabama, I did just that.

Yesterday he was chatting with CNN super-hottie Campbell Brown and said that he plans to run "in 2014.” When asked if he was serious, he said “I am, I can’t screw up Alabama.” Well, that’s a slogan you can run on: “Barkley for Alabama: He Won’t Screw It Up.”

He added that his native state could only improve. "We are number 48 in everything and Arkansas and Mississippi aren't going anywhere," Barkley said.

Wow, not even governor and already talking smack to other states. Yes it’s true that Alabama is nearly last in everything, so a fun-loving governor might be just what they need to lift their spirits. He continued to act like he knew what he was talking about:

He said that his top priority as governor would be education. "The public school system in this country is the worst it has ever been and what that does is that hurts crime, it hurts the judicial system," he said. "You know if you don't give people education and hope, they become criminals. They get involved in drugs. So we have got to fix the public school system."

Not bad Charles, not bad at all. I guess we’ll see you in 2014. Try not to go bankrupt before then, campaigns are expensive.