Run, Matt, run?

We always thought it would be Ben Affleck who’d run for public office…but will BFF Matt Damon beat him to it? If Florida Progressive Coalition blogger and Internet radio host Mark Weaver could wave his liberal magic wand, the answer would be yes.

Weaver argues Damon’s voice would be welcome on foreign policy, particularly in the debate over how America should handle conflicts in the Middle East. The actor is also electable, he says. “He’s smarter (Harvard) than Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger (and to my knowledge does not have a naked picture published in a body building magazine with his body all oiled up) and has been involved in numerous humanitarian civic causes,” Weaver writes. “He knows public policy. If potty mouth Al Franken (another pro-war Democrat unfortunately) can win in Minnesota …. I rest my case.” He then urges Damon to call him for some good advice.

Weaver’s only concern: Damon’s collaboration with fellow New Englander Sarah Silverman in her comedic “I’m f@*^ing Matt Damon” video. But, he adds, Franken’s done worse and “this video is hilarious. And it shows what a great sense of humor and how charismatic candidate Damon would be. He could be our Ronald Reagan, our Schwarzenegger.”

Perhaps making Weaver’s point, Damon was snapped by the AP today, visiting refugee centers in Musina on the South African border with Zimbabwe. The news service wrote that the actor became emotional after listening to a Zimbabwean woman tell of being raped while she was pregnant and traveling across the border into South Africa. Damon said he was “shocked and saddened” by the stories of the people he’d met, and called conditions “untenable.” The Cambridge star is traveling in Africa as part of his ongoing human rights work, and is calling on international and local leaders to help the estimated 3 million Zimbabweans who have fled their homes due to economic collapse and desperate conditions.

Here's another cool pic.

Damon is also filming a movie in South Africa with director Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman; the flick tells the story of how President Nelson Mandela (Freeman) united with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team (Damon) to heal the country after apartheid.

So…Matt for senator?