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Story by Khari Johnson

The debate over who is the coolest man in America has waged since George Washington Carver made peanut butter at the beginning of the 20th century. After all, who can say no to peanut butter?

Carver’s death in 1943 reopened the debate and today, any short list of who the coolest man in America is would have to include one name: Chuck Norris.

Some may dismiss Chuck Norris as a contender for coolest man in America, but there are a few things to consider first in this, a critical debate.

He’s chock full of old school and delivers impulsive roundhouse kicks to anyone he deems worthy of tasting his cowboy boot; and he’s way better than the Brad Pitts and Tom Cruises of the world. Tell those guys to grow the burly Norris chest hair.

Chuck Norris has kicked ass for decades, since a time when TV shows were scripted and rehearsed, and he did it all without selling no sissy-ass energy drinks like Steven Seagal.

He came to prominence in the early ’70s when he fought Bruce Lee in "The Way of the Dragon," which was staged in the Roman Coliseum. Lee eventually wins the fight against Norris’ character Colt, tearing a chunk of Chuck Norris' chest hair out in the process. This would go down in history as the only time anyone ever beat Chuck Norris.

Chuck performed in several trashy, but worthwhile, films in the ’70s and ’80s and in 1993 found meaning in his life as Cordell Walker in "Walker, Texas Ranger."

The show thrilled audiences for eight years before it was regrettably cancelled, today playing in heavy syndication. In 2004 Conan O’Brien installed a large “Walker, Texas Ranger” lever next to his desk to play random clips of Chuck’s show.

Today Chuck Norris is one of the most popular guys around. His name alone makes children smile. Not surprisingly, last August the top contender for a poll to name a new Hungarian bridge was the Chuck Norris Bridge.

He's clearly winning in the action hero category. Wesley Snipes was recently indicted for $12 million in false refund claims. Jean Claude van Damme, aka the Muscles from Brussels, got beat up by his own bodyguard. Arnold Schwarzenegger's the governor of California, but nuts to that.

Chuck Norris drove a powerboat (speedboat) sponsored by "Popeye's Chicken."

Chuck Norris earned an eighth-degree black belt at the age of 57.

Chuck Norris wrote a New York Times best selling book and he did it all while killing anyone who got in his way.

You could call it a reflection of society that Chuck Norris has risen to the top of the ranks, but I think Chuck Norris’ popularity signals a new day in celebrity and that’s a good thing.

The reality TV show has become the great equalizer in celebrity. Everyone knew Britney Spears and Whitney Houston were crack heads but it wasn’t until they got a video camera around them for longer than ten minutes that everyone understood.

Flavor Flav went from the bottom to the top with reality TV. On this his third reality TV show with VH1, "Flavor of Love 2", the show's season finale was the number two rated in the Nielsens on cable. And Flavor Flav wasn’t even an actor or rapper or anything. He hyped up the crowd with a fucking wall clock latched around his neck.

Mr-T’s new reality show, "I Pity The Fool" premiered two weeks ago. Need I say more.