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Saturday, Dec 22, 2012 12:27 AM UTC

Ben Affleck: Door’s open for Senate run

"One never knows," he says coyly on "Face the Nation." "I do have a great fondness ... for the political process"

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Topics: Ben Affleck, Senate, John Kerry, Elizabeth Warren, Scott Brown,

Ben Affleck: Door's open for Senate runBen Affleck (Credit: AP/Nathan Denette)

Ben Affleck sounds a little like a senator. That is, he sounds like he’s been paying attention to how to keep the door open on a run.

Affleck will appear Sunday on “Face the Nation,” and the CBS Sunday morning show released an advance video of the interview, in which the actor sounds like he’s considering a run for John Kerry’s seat in the Senate.

Kerry was nominated Friday to be secretary of state in President Obama’s second term, succeeding Hillary Clinton. Scott Brown, who was defeated by Elizabeth Warren in November, is considered a likely GOP nominee, and an early favorite.

Here’s the key quote:

Well, one never knows. I’m not one to get into conjecture. I do have a great fondness and admiration for the political process in this country, it’s a big deal for me to come down here and be on your show that I’ve watched so much. But I’m not going to get into speculation about my political future.

I like to be involved — right now I’m really happy being involved from the outside in government, advocating for the Congolese, taking this move that I made, “Argo,” and it’s really become a springboard for dialogue about our relationship with Iran, which is, you know, as Hillary Clinton said, the most pressing foreign policy issue today — so I’ve got a lot on my plate.

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David Daley is the executive editor of Salon. More David Daley.

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