Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong (born September 18, 1971 in Plano, Texas) is a retired American professional road racing cyclist. He is most famous for recovering from testicular cancer to subsequently win the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times—1999 to 2005. His success prompted some to nickname the event the "Tour de Lance."

Political possibilities

In an interview with the New York Times, teammate George Hincapie hinted at Armstrong possibly running for Governor of Texas after retiring from cycling. In the July 2005 issue of Outside magazine http://outside.away.com/outside/toc/200507.html, Armstrong himself hinted at possibly running for Governor, although "not in '06." By Texas political standards, he would almost certainly run as a Democrat, as he has described himself in the past as being "middle to left," "against mixing up State and Church," "not keen on guns," opposed to the Iraq War, and pro-choice.

Related Topics:
New York Times - George Hincapie - Governor of Texas - Texas - Democrat - Iraq War - Pro-choice

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U.S. Senator John Kerry, interviewed on OLN at the 2005 Tour de France, indicated Armstrong has the potential to be successful in politics. "I think he'd be awesome, he'd be a force. I just hope it's for the right party," Kerry said on OLN. President George W. Bush, a Republican and fellow Texan, also considers Armstrong to be a close friend. President Bush called Armstrong in France after his 2005 victory to congratulate him and in August, 2005 The Times (Can this bike ride be Bush's tour de force?) reported the President had invited Armstrong to his Prairie Chapel Ranch to go mountain biking.

Related Topics:
John Kerry - George W. Bush - Republican - The Times - Prairie Chapel Ranch - Mountain biking

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Armstrong was quoted by The Times in 2004 about his views on Iraq: "I don't like what the war has done to our country, to our economy. My kids will be paying for this war for some time to come. George Bush is a friend of mine and just as I say it to you, I'd say to him, 'Mr President, I'm not sure this war was such a good idea', and the good thing about him is he could take that."

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Most recently however, beginning in August, 2005, Armstrong has hinted that he has changed his mind about possibly entering politics. In an interview with Charlie Rose, that aired on PBS on August 1st, 2005, Armstrong pointed out that running for Governor would require the type of time commitments that caused him to decide to retire from cycling. Again on August 16, 2005, Armstrong told a local Austin CBS affiliate http://news.yahoo.com/s/keye/20050816/lo_keye/cbs42armstrongsayshesnotrunningforpoliticalofficehttp://news.yahoo.com/s/keye/20050816/lo_keye/cbs42armstrongsayshesnotrunningforpoliticaloffice that he is no longer considering politics. "The biggest problem with politics or running for the governor -- the governor's race here in Austin or in Texas is that it would mimic exactly what I've done: a ton of stress and a ton of time away from my kids. Why would I want to go from pro cycling, which is stressful and a lot of time away, straight into politics?"

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