Fred Thompson, Jesse Ventura and 11 others who went from the small screen to the podium

Did you know that before he hosted his eponymous chair-throwing, fist-flying talk show, Jerry Springer was the mayor of Cincinnati?

Going from politician to TV star may be an unusual path, but the opposite route is actually quite common.

Here are 13 stars who made -- or tried to make -- the leap from primetime to politics.

Like Moe from The Simpsons, I usually spend Festivus time with my head in an oven and a "no funeral" sign taped to my back. This year, though, is a little different, because a) I just found out my oven is electric and b) TV Squad asked me to compile a list of the things I wanted for Festivus. There's no time for holiday depression when an editorially-mandated list of things-that-will-never-come-to-pass is waiting to be written!

So, off with the noose and on with the list...

(S19E01) Blackboard Gag: I will not wait 20 years to make another movie

Adam, this one's for you.

To begin this review I would like to speak to all of the continuity wonks out there in the audience. You know who you are! You're the folks who keep writing about how nothing changes in Springfield, even after something major happens the episode before. Well, The Simpsons has plenty of continuity. If not, then Ned's wife would still be alive the week after she died and Selma's last name would not be Selma Bouvier Terwilliger Hutz McClure Stu Simpson, Continuity is there . . . it's just subtle.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• The big scandals are the ones we love to talk about. Let's not talk about what Sharon Osbourne sends people wrapped up in Tiffany & Co. boxes ever again.
• Three Hollywood chimpanzees are finally out of the hands of their abusive animal trainer.
• Steven Colbert's word "truthiness" was just named word of the year by Merriam-Webster (and they don't even think it's a word.)

The video's embedded after the jump below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this vodcast via our feed.

The guest for last night's Colbert Report was Amy Sedaris. I was curious to see how Stephen Colbert would interview her, since she was there to promote a project in which he is also heavily involved (Strangers With Candy, both the TV and bigscreen versions). He didn't acknowledge the fact that he's in the film, but I'm pretty sure most of the audience already knew what was going on. Anyway, while discussing fitness regiments, Amy revealed that she keeps fit by tumbling. Stephen then explained that he also liked tumbling with his building manager, Tad (Paul Dinello), who just happened to be hanging out in the audience. What followed was a very entertaining SWC reunion, complete with lots of tumbling and Amy in a green, sequined one-piece. It's so easy to tell that these three people absolutely love working with each other.

Video after the jump!