Robert Burck, New York's famous naked cowboy, is running for president in 2012. The official announcement is on his Web site, with imagery vaguely reminiscent of President Obama's trademark red white and blue sunrise from the 2008 campaign.
It's not yet known if the world-famous busker will campaign in just his underwear, a cowboy hat and a guitar, his trademark uniform on the streets of New York City, where's he's been singing and dancing for decades.
This won't be the first time the Naked Cowboy's thrown his hat in the political rodeo. According to the Associated Press, Burck ran for mayor of New York City in 2009. He also majored in political science at the University of Cincinnati.
The "Reverend Naked Cowboy" also performs marriages in Times Square, starting at $499.
When reached for comment, the naked cowboy's publicist/campaign manager, Todd Rubenstein, said that Burck won't be making any official statements until after his news conference announcing his run. That's taking place Wednesday in Times Square. Rubenstein made a point to remind us here at The Post that all press pass holders can join the naked cowboy after the event for FREE naked cowboy oysters & beer.(Now, that's a way to start a campaign for president.)
While we wait for the candidate's first words about his campaign, we're left with a brief statement in his online news release:
"America needs a president who believes in America. America needs a president who will stand up for America and protect its language, its borders, and most importantly, its culture ... "
And apparently, we need a president who will do that standing (and maybe singing, too?) in his underwear.
Yeehaw!
When last heard from, the Times Square tourist attraction known as the Naked Cowboy had tossed his 10-gallon hat into the political ring to unseat Mayor Michael Bloomberg, only to withdraw his candidacy.
Now, the Cowboy – real name: Robert Burck, 39 – wants to rope in some potential competition, the New York Post reports. The Cowboy's target: bikini-clad Sandy Kane, who calls herself "The Naked Cowgirl" and who also appears in Times Square.
Only unlike the Cowboy, who wears only boots, a hat and tighty whities, the Cowgirl often sports a stars-and-stripes cowboy hat and matching swimsuit.
"Your use of Naked Cowgirl is essentially identical to the Naked Cowboy and is clearly in violation [of the Naked Cowboy trademark]," reads a cease-and-desist letter Burck sent the Cowgirl, says the Post. He also told the paper, "If she's going to sell stuff and make money off of it, then, yeah, she's going to have to pay."
Burck is reportedly seeking as much as $150,000, though his manager, Todd Rubenstein, says their side is willing to negotiate a deal.
Only Kane, said to be 50-ish and from New Jersey, ain't willin' to wheel and deal. "I've been naked for years," points out Kane, a veteran of New York's comedy circuit who generated some heat after closing her act by setting her breasts on fire.
"You know how much money I make?" she tells the paper. "Two dollars a picture. I'm not selling any products."
Kane also notes that, before this duel, she and Burck were set to perform a duet, which apparently fell apart when he asked her to sign a franchise contract. "The song ain't going anywhere anyways," Kane insists. "It's not like he's Tim McGraw or Keith Urban."
Running for mayor of New York City must have struck Robert Burck, the so-called Naked Cowboy of Times Square, as a good idea back in July.
His profile as a tourist attraction would certainly be higher as a mayor, in briefs.
And, beyond good pecs, he offered the citizenry a résumé that includes a degree in political science, a father who was a city councilman in Ohio, and a catchy campaign motto: “Nobody has done more with less.”
But six weeks after announcing his intention to run, Mr. Burck has soured on this political gig.
“I’m absolutely dropping out,” he said on Friday after having done battle with the bureaucracy that regulates political campaigns in New York.
Conflict-of-interest rules. Financial-disclosure forms. Fines and threats of imprisonment.
It was all enough to send a singing cowboy back to Times Square, where he daily strums for his supper with a strategically positioned guitar draped over his white skivvies.
“What I want to do is stick with what I do best,” he explained. “It’s probably why I look like a naked cowboy, and Mayor Bloomberg looks like a mayor.” The culmination of his struggle was a sharply worded letter he got Thursday from the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board, an agency he said he had never fathomed existed until the letter arrived, notifying him that he had failed to file the financial disclosure form as required.
He had to correct the deficiency or risk being charged with a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and a $10,000 civil penalty. The letter told him he was being assessed a $250 fine, which had to be hand-delivered to the board or sent by certified mail.
So Friday, traveling without entourage, he appeared at the board’s downtown headquarters, in his briefs and a skimpy white fur with a mink collar, to hand over a completed disclosure and a $250 fine. The form lists no trusts, loans or outside affiliations. It describes his occupation as “traveling entertainer” and reports gross income of between $100,00 and $250,000 last year.
The only real detail is on a page asking about securities, in which he lists two accounts at Merrill Lynch, a cash management account and an I.R.A., each worth $5,000 to $35,000.
Even before his tangle with the conflicts board, Mr. Burck’s candidacy had faced serious obstacles. The New York City Board of Elections had denied him a place on the ballot on Aug. 28 because of deficiencies in his paperwork, pending a hearing Tuesday, according to the board’s executive director, Marcus Cederqvist.
Mr. Cederqvist added that Mr. Burck’s petition also appeared to fall short of the requirement that independent candidates furnish at least 7,500 voters’ signatures to get on the ballot.
“The only way to be taken seriously is to put on a suit and tie,” Mr. Burck said, recounting his lessons learned.
“Politics is not fun and games,” he said. “It’s serious stuff, and my mind was a little more dreamy.”
No more beating around the bush. After a provocative whisper campaign, it's now official: The Naked Cowboy is a full-frontal candidate for mayor of New York City.
The uninhibited midtown Manhattan tourist fixture – who plucks his guitar and poses for photos while wearing only his jockey shorts, Western boots and a 10-gallon hat – is promising a platform "do more with less," he said at a Times Square press conference to declare his candidacy at noon Wednesday.
With what he is calling his "Naked Stimulus Package," the Cowboy – real name: Robert Burck, 38 – hopes to goose the city's small businesses with micro loans, tax holidays and other incentives, he says on his election Web site. He adds that he's willing to tighten his belt, even though he never wears one.
And while he isn't so bold as to declare a party affiliation, the Cowboy does say he supports higher taxes for the rich ("Stop whining and pay"), heightened security, better transportation and increased tourism.
He further vows to erect a Times Square Wedding Chapel and establish a billion dollar wedding business that will rival Las Vegas, according to his campaign materials, which also state, "As an ordained minister he'd love to marry all citizens of N.Y.C., not just the straight shooters."
At present, billionaire Michael Bloomberg, 67, is the mayor of New York City, and he is expected to run for an unprecedented third term
Not that this will leave him wearing much, but the Naked Cowboy is tossing his hat in the ring – to run for New York City mayor against formidable incumbent Michael Bloomberg.
The Cowboy – a guitar-strumming, 10-gallon-hat-and-skivvies-wearing Times Square fixture who for the past 11 years has posed for pictures with tourists – plans to announce his candidacy Wednesday, Reuters reports.
"No one knows how to do more with less than yours truly, and that's the kind of thinking I plan on sharing with my fellow New Yorkers when you elect me," said the Cowboy, an Ohio native whose real name is Robert Burck, 38.
In this year of political change, his platform reportedly will consist of innovation on tax breaks, tourism, gay marriage, transit and homeland security.
In a February 2008 People poll, at the time the Cowboy was suing the maker of M&Ms for allegedly infringing his trademark by outfitting an otherwise naked blue M&M in a 10-gallon hat and boots, readers found the blue M&M sexier than Burck – 65 percent to 35.
No word yet on how billionaire Bloomberg stacks up next to his opponent, with or without his tighty whities.
Robert Burck, New York's famous naked cowboy, is running for president in 2012. The official announcement is on his Web site, with imagery vaguely reminiscent of President Obama's trademark red white and blue sunrise from the 2008 campaign.
