Mr Carter may be no more than a cuddly old joke to many conservatives nowadays.

ECONOMIST: A toothy nightmare for Republicans

But really, it's no joke - they're all trying to be the next governor of Texas.

NPR: Friedman Shakes Up Texas Governor Race

While it was a long-standing joke among tax and estate planners that 2010 would be a good year to die because there is no estate tax imposed in that year, in practice, this is less than certain.

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