Craig James acknowledged he took money while playing at SMU, sort of. During last night’s debate, the Republican senatorial candidate conceded he accept money while playing, but not as part of the systematic player payment scheme that saw the school receive the death penalty.

“It was insignificant. It was never,” he said, halting in mid-sentence. “I said in my book that if someone came up and shook my hand and there were a $20 bill in it, I didn’t have the maturity at that time to turn it away.”

James’ campaign to be a politician rests on his being devoid of any experience at being a politician. “We can’t send another politician to Washington,” James said.

“I’m going up there to kick the skunks out of the bushes,” he said, adding later: “The game’s over, man.”

He’s not a fan of illegal immigrants, who need to “pay the price for coming here illegally.”

“We have to squeeze down … find out who they are and get them out of here,” he said. “I have compassion for those kids, but they have broken the law because they are still here.”

He also felt compelled to point out “right is right; wrong is wrong. It’s never right to do wrong” and that he sleeps with both a pistol and a shotgun between his mattresses.

It’s a shame he won’t reach the general campaign. I dearly wanted to hear his thoughts on Libya.

[Photo via Getty]