Ken Herman | The Austin American-Statesman

FORT WORTH — And there they were, together again for the first time at a televised debate. The rare: A wealthy, Palestinian-born hair care magnate running for governor of Texas. And the even rarer: A Democrat with an

actual chance of being elected governor of Texas.

It’s Farouk Shami. It’s Bill White. It’s the Democratic gubernatorial debate that excluded five other candidates you know even less about. (Alma Aguado, Felix Alvarado, William Dear, Clement Glenn and Star Locke. Yeah, me neither.)

“Now, gentlemen, most Texas voters don’t know much about either of you,” debate moderator Karen Borta said in getting the festivities rolling.

An hour later, White still seemed unsure that many folks outside of Houston — where he was mayor for six years — knew much about him.

“I’m Bill White,” he said in getting his closing statement rolling.

It was a peculiar debate because Shami is a peculiar candidate. He seems to be a nice man. You can’t help but like his personal success story.

I wouldn’t score the debate as a knockout for White. But boxingwise, I was looking for a referee to stop the contest in order to halt further damage, much of it self-inflicted, to Shami.

“When I’m the governor, everybody is

going to go to work,” he said, adding something of a money-back guarantee in which

he would give the state million if he

doesn’t create 100,000 jobs in the first two years.

I believe million funds state government for multiple minutes.

Shami on capital punishment: “We have killed lots of innocent people in the state of Texas,” he said, adding that he would support the death penalty only when “we are 110

percent sure that that person deserves death.”

My math is a bit rusty, but I recall that 110 percent is a tough standard to reach.

Shami also flubbed an opportunity to unflub a previous flub. Recently, he was unable to name the state comptroller or attorney general. In response to a semi-related debate question, Shami said there’s no need to learn those names.

“When I’m the governor, most of those people are going to be new,” he said.

Unlikely. Comptroller Susan Combs has neither a Republican nor a Democratic opponent. And GOP Attorney General Greg Abbott is a prohibitive favorite for re-election, as are all the Republicans in statewide executive office, save perhaps for Gov. Rick Perry, who is battling Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the GOP primary.

Give Shami credit for the evening’s most memorable quote, sparked by an immigration question: “Without Mexicans, it would be like a day without sunshine in our state.”

Mexicans: The new orange juice.

Let’s enjoy Shami and his energy and sincerity as he enjoys his 15 minutes of political fame. The colorful often pass quickly through the Texas political spotlight. Some \u2013 see Richards, Ann and Bullock, Bob \u2013 linger long enough to enter state lore and legend.

White, on the other hand, would be among what we would charitably call the less than colorful. How much less than colorful? His surname adequately captures the predominant color he exudes.

Those who watched the debate noticed White doesn’t exactly light it up. But there is light — if not heat — in his low-key presentation.

“This is not leadership,” he said in damning those who depend on what White called “wedge issues.”

Leadership also is not, he said, getting too far in front in promising vetoes on yet-to-be-written legislation.

If you’re an undecided voter, White owes you lots of answers on lots of issues. He has indicated he is willing to give them in coming months.

Right now, the smart money says we’ll have a Perry-White (Hey, wasn’t Perry White the editor of Clark Kent’s newspaper?) November showdown.

And what a contrast that would offer. In a 29-hour period, I got to see Perry at his rootin’-tootin’-hootin’-hollerin’ best at a rally with Sarah Palin and White at the debate. This much is clear: No state has a governor who

can root, toot, hoot and holler better than ours.

Monday night I saw the White style on display at the debate. I now will type some phrases nobody ever has typed in the history of keyboarding: The electrifying Bill White. The charismatic Bill White. The rootin’-tootin’-hootin’-hollerin’ Bill White.

Be forewarned, Texas. Electing Bill White could do serious damage to a stereotype we’ve worked hard to maintain among our elected leaders.

Do we want to spoil it at this point by electing a dull guy who actually might be qualified for the job?

kherman@statesman.com; 445-3907