Political Hotsheet
By

Lindsey Boerma /

CBS News/ September 14, 2012, 4:06 PM

FYI, Jennifer Granholm was on "The Dating Game" in 1978

(CBS News) She may have been "fiery" and "electric" on stage at the Democratic National Convention last week, but as a contestant on "The Dating Game" in 1978, former Michigan governor-turned-talk show host Jennifer Granholm was described as "cute and curvaceous."

Newly unearthed video shows a 19-year-old Granholm - now host of the liberal show, "The War Room with Jennifer Granholm" on Current TV - sporting the decade's signature Farrah Fawcett-inspired mane and a pair of suspenders. After introducing the then-aspiring actress as a lover of "theater, the ice, and the great outdoors," the host, Jim Lange, asks, "Is it crazy time?" Granholm: "Oh, you betcha!"

Granholm has recently risen to the tops of news feeds for her animated - perhaps overly so, some political consultants have said - and passionate address to the DNC in Charlotte, N.C., last week, during which she lambasted GOP nominee Mitt Romney and championed President Obama's actions during the Detroit auto industry bailout. Her wild arm gestures and often thunderous volume immediately drew over 500,000 people to YouTube to watch replays of the speech, which has been compared to the scream that foiled Howard Dean's White house dreams in 2004.

"I was high on democracy," Granholm told reporters following her remarks.

As for her new - or at least, newfound- Internet sensation, Granholm is taking it in stride. When a former staffer sent her the link, the Detroit Free Press reports, she responded, "I'm still laughing so hard my stomach hurts."

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
7 Comments Add a Comment
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endrepubs says:
Not many people look better at 53 than they do at 19 but she does. Great speech at the convention too!
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vet97 says:
I thought she was great...loved her passion...she told it the way it was...fired up the troops...her comment about the car getting the elevator and the middle class getting the shaft was great!...I fell out of my chair when I heard it...loved it!...way to go Jennifer!
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NB62 says:
She was the sexist governor in America and DAMN!!!!!!! she is still hot and sexy.
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bobnjersey says:
["I was high on democracy," Granholm told reporters following her remarks]
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well ... at least she didn't attempt to babble her way thru a confused conversation w/ an empty chair.
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wayneonly says:
How is this newsworthy? Let's talk about the Romney/Ryan/GOP lack of any plan to help the middle class and thus create a Market Place for goods and services MADE IN AMERICA. There will be no economic recovery until the politicians address the problem of the SHRINKING middle class and the concentration of wealth to the top 1% of Americans.Those 1%ers are NOT going to invest in new or expanding businesses until there is an improvement in the MARKET PLACE. And the only market place is the middle class.
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Kestrel88 says:
She was hot, too. Still is...
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gwazdos1 says:
I thought she was great and gave life to the program that at times can be a sleeper like with the Repub's convention!
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