(2003-10-24) -- The man who survived a trip over Niagara Falls last week has become the 10th Democrat running for President.

Yesterday, Kirk Jones was asked by DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe to throw his hat in the ring because of his recent notoriety.

"Everybody in America has heard of this guy," said Mr. McAuliffe. "With his outlook on life, we knew he must be a Democrat. And although he's a little more cheerful than most of our current candidates, we think he'll go over well with the party faithful."

Mr. Jones, a former auto-parts salesman, said he's "eager to take the plunge into politics" and will meet with former President Bill Clinton over the weekend to find out where he's going to stand on the issues.

A flash poll taken among likely Democrat voters this morning indicates Mr. Jones has already leaped ahead of Wesley Clark and Howard Dean.