"Do you know that this guy is actually a troll?" one political insider asked after SFist ran this clearly (we hope) ironically intended report on Oakland mayoral candidate Peter Y. Liu.
"It seems like a lot of people think Peter is serious about" running for mayor, the insider said, "but he's not...Peter is mocking the mayor's race." But now that mockery is getting mocked, as Liu has caught the attention of late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
It's certainly not the funniest take you'll ever see, and Liu, who's made remarks like "I can count from 1 to 10 with my fingers so a 10 digit number is no problem for me. I am the world’s smartest leader, give me a trillion dollar budget and I’ll do it like Picasso," is pretty much writing any blogger's/comedian's material for him or her. (Also, just so we're clear, oakmayor2014.com, the site on which Liu made his obviously outrageously-intended remarks, isn't the "official site" for the Oakland mayoral race, as Kimmel states: it's the creation of a marketing guy and a developer, so keep those grains of salt on hand.)
But it's still interesting to see the national perception of a local candidate, even a candidate who says things like "Just imagine yourself riding a horse, running pass an obnoxious Segway scooter ride, you can literally trample on his ass and bounce at the same time. I like that feeling. We must get more horses. Vote Liu."
According to the Chron, Liu is pleased with the late night attention, telling them “I feel good about it,” then excusing himself from the call because “I’m getting a haircut right now.”
All the better to show off those Kimmel-beloved earlobes, Peter.
Previously: Guy Running For Oakland Mayor Hates Bicycles, Gays, Thinks We Should All Carry Guns