President Bartlet, er, Martin Sheen Endorses Richardson: Dayton-Born Actor Backs New Mexican

DAYTON (TDB) -- The Michigan Messenger has the news that Ohio-born actor and political activist Martin Sheen has endorsed New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's Democratic presidential bid. Sheen is best known for portraying President Josiah Bartlet on the popular NBC series The West Wing. The drama sought to capture what it was like to serve in the White House under a Democratic administration.

Sheen appears in this short YouTUBE video posted in October saying he questions the U.S. government's version of the 9/11 attack. He seems to be buying into claims by the 9/11 truthers about a conspiracy.

Richardson is a Hispanic-American, as is Sheen, who was born in Dayton 67 years ago as Ramon Gerardo Antonio Estevez. He grew up in the city's South Park neighborhood and graduated from what is now Chaminade-Julienne High School, a Catholic parochial school. Sheen adopted his stage name from Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, who had a TV show and a large following in the 1950s. Sheen has apparently been actively supporting Richardson for some time, so it is not clear why there has not been prior news of the formal celebrity endorsement.

There is a lot about Sheen's background and career available here on Wikipedia. The YouTUBE clip might make him a liability to the Richardson camp.