He was the mayor of Cleveland while I lived in northern PA, and later when I lived in Ohio he was the Cuyahoga Cty rep in state senate. Kucinich was pretty good at handling local press but could never manage national newspeople well.

I don't think he's particularly weird. Neither in comparison with people I know personally nor our apparently-more-respectable national leaders, who seem to derive endless enjoyment from driving brush hogs, anoint themselves with oil whenever they're promoted in office, or take their miscarried fetuses home to show the kids.