The salty British judge of "America's Got Talent" is a rumored favorite, but he remains cagey when asked if he'd be willing to replace Simon, which, if he were a politician would translate to "Yes, I'm definitely running for election." 

Odds makers have already booked him at 2-1. But people often underestimate how difficult it is to offer frank critique and remain on good terms with viewers.
 
There's a line in this season of the brilliant BBC sitcom "The Thick of It," where one character says to another: "You're shifting from the man people love to hate, to the man people just hate. From Simon Cowell to Piers Morgan." The Brits might be on to something.   

Here's Piers making a little girl cry, always a crowd-pleaser: