American Notes POLITICS

When people talk politics, they often drift into the realm of the absurd as the evening grows old. What if Ted Kennedy ran against Richard Nixon? And later, by bedtime: What if Johnny Carson were a candidate? Now a nationwide poll for Spy magazine answers these pressing questions. Kennedy, for example, would beat Nixon decisively, 52% to 29%. As for following Reagan from Hollywood into politics, the clear favorite is Charlton Heston, followed by Paul Newman and Bill Cosby. (Carson comes in sixth.) Asked which candidates seem the "craziest," voters singled out Jesse Jackson, Pat Robertson and Alexander Haig, in that order. Crazy or not, Jackson was the front runner in the Democratic field, with 18%, followed by Michael Dukakis and Paul Simon. But, as some pundits have suspected, some 4% of those surveyed actually think it is Paul Simon the singer who is running.