In the spirit of full disclosure, I think it is important for me to let the public know I am planning to run for political office. And when I win, I will fill my staff with Hooters girls.

Not because I have to, but because I think it is the right thing to do.

When Florida's Speaker of the House, Tom Feeney, hired 27-year-old Bridgette Gregory, who has not only worked for some ranking state Republicans but has experience selling wings at Hooters, he helped me realize that it is not just lawyers and poli-sci grads who have what it takes to make it in politics.

I, for one, think Feeney's on to something. That's why when I get into office, I'll not only hire one Hooters girl, I'll hire a bunch of them.

And why not? Can there really be that striking a difference between managing the crowd on Capitol Hill at budget time and managing the Hooters crowd at happy hour?

I doubt it.

So why are Hooters girls the perfect candidates for public service of the political kind?

Easy. Politicians -- and, to an extent, their staffs -- live in the public eye. Cameras and hordes of reporters follow and document their every move, so they have to behave better than the rest of us. We regular folk can tell off anyone we want, but let a politician tell someone where they can stick their ideas and it will be the focus of a four-part series on 60 Minutes.

Though Hooters girls generally are not faced with constant media scrutiny while going about their daily lives, they are under heavy surveillance while on the job. I don't go to Hooters for the wings, even though most men claim to. Of course, most men also swear the best part about Playboy is the articles. And, while that might be true, I've never met anyone who could stop looking at the "Girls of the ACC" long enough to read excerpts from Norman Mailer's latest work.

Hooters girls are constantly being observed as they cart trays of beer and food across the room.

Each time a Hooters girl spills a beverage, every guy makes a mental note to point it out to her when she rebuffs their advances four beers later.

We might keep an eye on our politicians, but we have a hard time taking our eyes off the Hooters girls. And while Hooters girls may not regularly face the business end of a group of lawyers, I'll guarantee most senators and representatives don't sit around the Capitol break room complaining how many times they were pinched that day.

Politics and Hooters jobs bear another striking resemblance: They are both about appearances.

It makes sense that we insist that our politicians look good. Since they are our representatives, we are forced to look at them all the time. And if we must constantly see their mugs in the newspaper, they might as well be pretty.

I'm not quite sure why we insist that the women who bring us Buffalo wings are supermodels -- it seems almost anyone with two hands could get the job done -- but then again I can't find any problem with beautiful women bringing me food.

I guess when it comes right down to it, most people, including me, do not have the training to enter the political fray that Hooters girls possess. So maybe I won't be running for office. Perhaps our community would be better served by electing a Hooters girl to the Legislature. And maybe if one of them gets the job, she will hire me to work on her staff, and the media can complain that I am underqualified and overpaid.

But mostly they will just ask me why I am wearing that skintight halter-top.