Fans Try To Draft John Mellencamp For U.S. Senate

Over 2,000 people have joined just one of the many “Draft John Mellencamp for Senate” groups on Facebook. Even politicos seem to think that the rocker may actually have what it takes to replace Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, who announced he won’t be seeking reelection this week.

Mellencamp has had his hand in politics before. In 2008, he voiced his support for Obama’s presidential campaign through a recorded radio commercial in which he also requested that Sen. John McCain, stop playing his songs “Our Country” and “Pink Houses” at his rallies. Many of Mellencamp’s songs reference social and political issues.

Political observers think the rocker may have the right stuff. “The only good news is that with Republicans cozying up to all sorts of untested Tea Party oddballs, it would be hard for conservative pundits to engage in any of their customary celeb-bashing if Mellencamp were to actually throw his hat in the ring,” wrote the L.A. Times‘s Patrick Goldstein. “In politics, this is the year of the amateur.” One problem – Mellencamp still hasn’t said whether he’d be interested in the job. –NATASHA ALLOWAY