It happened ten years ago, but my friend Kary suddenly remembered that we could have been looking at Presidential candidate Joe Bob if only ….

Tuesday, July 3, 2001

Abilene man mulls over run for governor

By Larry Zelisko
Reporter-News Staff Writer

Joe Earles of Abilene is testing the political waters on the Internet before wading into a possible campaign for Texas governor.

Earles, who tried to wage a write-in campaign for Congress in 1992, said Monday he is considering a run for governor based on response to his Web site. The site espouses his views on a variety of subjects and will be continually updated, Earles said.

The last time he ran for office he did so under the name Joe Bob Earles.

“There’s a theatrical quality about Joe Bob,” he said. “But in the interest of name recognition I’m using Joe Earles.”

If only he had stuck to Joe Bob, we would not be in the mess we’re in now.  I am convinced of it.

And there’s more proof of this:

The newspaper circulation route driver said the power of the Internet is unbelievable. It offers a chance for anyone to see where he stands on the issues, he said, and a chance to communicate one-on-one.

“The Internet is convenient and people like convenience,” he said.

Earles asks visitors to his Web site to contact him if they want him to run against Gov. Rick Perry, a Paint Creek native, and to forgive interruptions of his train of thought because of his dog’s antics. He urges English teachers to contact him if they find mistakes on his pages, as well as anyone who wants to make extra money at home selling Web sites.

He was a man with vision.  To this day, people still like convenient.  And the internet thing kinda worked out, too.