Drew Carey's trip from nears-suicidal nerdy kid to five-star game show host!

John Stossel writes. I knew it was the Marines but I still love this story.

I hate the component about self-help books. All I want is a Bible, some political consulting biographies, my campaign management how-to manual, Seven Habits of Highly Productive People, and... I guess it's different strokes for different folks, but in my experience self-help books usually just dish out self-love. Increasing self-esteem is usually just mental masturbation, that is the person boosting his own self-opinion makes himself feel better and isn't simultaneously raising the spirits of another intentionally. Maybe Drew Carey's books are that damn good. I am inspired, however, by his declaration of sheer willpower. Perhaps my will alone many not lead to success, as my own human powers are often insufficient, but the good Lord never blessed a quitter with success.

It's also heart-warming that he received that ultimate blessing from Johnny Carson. The best and most important for any comedian to receive, and one that will never be bestowed again. What Drew Carey has in his comedic history is like an Erdos number of 1, which to a mathematician or a scholar is a sacred status. Now whatever we say about his sitcom, whether we watched it or not (I loved it, despite moment of inappropriate content or themes), or even endorse the continued career of a Libertarian (I'm fine with it) or a soccer fan (I choke on my own bile), he has risen to a level we can only hope to aspire to: being a family-time, big-time, daytime game show host. Drew Carey has a heart for people;

The show's producers cited Carey's "empathy skills" as a reason why they picked him for the coveted position... "I have nothing but love for everybody that comes up on the stage," Carey explained. "And it makes me sad for them when they lose, happier for them when they win."

To be honest I partially credit the Price is Right itself. People have called me "heartless" and I endeavor to the highest to be stoic, and emotionally immovable but whenever I watch that game show I root for everyone to win all they can. The Price is Right is special in that one way: most every game show you have to root for one person to win against someone else, or expect someone to win over someone else. You subconsciously or consciously choose which individual you would rather see win. Price is Right has personal competitions at only few stages of the game, and even though everyone in the audience is officially a "Contestant", you really simply want to see players succeed, and no one to miss out on that new car. Drew Carey reaches out in that extra special way, beyond average expectations, and that makes him that great game show host... along with the sense of humor.

Of course, Mister Carey has to be a good stand-up comedian and wonderful buddy on stage as he's still not old enough to play a fatherly figure as Bob Barker did in the last two or three decades of host duties on the show. Whatever the angle, he clearly has a role to play.

My gosh, I only intended to link to the Stossel article and what inspired me. This post was supposed to leave off at that stuff about willpower and quitters not succeeding. Then I gushed out my beliefs on the Price is Right. To think I was saving those.