This is just too cool: proto-grrl rocker Joan Jett is running as a Democratic National Convention delegate for the Howard Dean campaign. At 43, has JJ gone politico?

From New York Newsday: "'This whole process intrigues me,' Jett told The Associated Press Wednesday. 'I am a virgin here. I'm stepping into new territory. It's very exciting. I want to learn a lot and try to pay attention.' If she is elected during New York's March 2 presidential primary, Jett would go to the Democratic National Convention next summer as a Dean delegate.

Dean's New York campaign director, Ethan Geto, said Jett was an early and active supporter of Dean's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, including performing at fund-raising events. 'I am very impressed with Howard Dean,' Jett said. 'I care about our country and our troops and I want things to go well.' Jett, 43, said she agrees with Dean's stance against the war in Iraq, though she is a champion of members of the U.S. military. She performed twice for troops in the Afghanistan military theater in the months after Sept. 11, 2001, and has also performed for American troops in Bosnia.

I've been a Dean fan since my Vermont days (okay, okay, I never actually lived in Vermont - I lived in Plattsburgh, New York, right across the ferry. Close enough; put it this way - when Vermont sneezes, Plattsburgh catches a cold.) and it's just icing on the cake to have one of my fave musical artists be so big a supporter as to run for delegate. Rock on, Joan! Or is that "run on"?

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