A Naked Economist in Washington?

Charles Wheelan, author of Naked Economics and a lecturer in public policy at the University of Chicago, launched his bid for the U.S. House of Representatives.
While Wheelan is a long shot, not so many years ago you would have said the same thing about an unknown lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School named Barack Obama.
This is precedent, believe it or not, when it comes to University of Chicago economists achieving political success.
Paul Douglas, a professor in the University of Chicago economics department (best known for the Cobb-Douglas function), served in the United States Senate for nearly 20 years.
(For those who are interested, Wheelan describes his core economic principles in this petition, and he’s asking other economists to sign the petition if they agree.)