Obama vs. McCain — A cure for the summer sports blues

   Even though I am getting a kick out of the perennial doormat Tampa
Bay Rays slapping Boston and New York around, Major League
Baseball lost me a long time ago, and I couldn’t tell you the last time
I watched a game from beginning to end.
   Partner that with Tiger Woods being out for the rest of the golf
season and my current pedestrian level of racing interest, and July
is not the best of sports months for me.
   In fact, the only thing keeping me sane at this point is knowing that
NFL training camp and the Miguel Cotto/Antonio Margarito
welterweight championship fight are just a few weeks away.
   Thankfully, there’s a prizefight of infinite magnitude going on that
comes around just once every four years … and this one even stands
out above most. With 120 rounds (days) until Election Day 2008,
we’re destined to see a scrap that might make Tyson/Holyfield II
seem tame by comparison, as Barack Obama and John McCain
slug it out for the top title in the world — President of the United
States.
   In one corner you have Obama, the 46-year-old Democratic slugger
from Chicago looking to become the Jack Johnson of big-time
politics. Like Johnson, who became the first black heavyweight
champion in 1908 while battling opponents and fervent racism,
Obama has a lot to overcome.
   Obama’s tooth-and-nail fight with Hillary Clinton has left their party divided
along ideological and — though most won’t admit it — racial lines.
Despite feelings of hatred toward George W. Bush and the
Republican Party, there are many Democrats that will not vote for a
black man.
   While Obama’s record of experience is a point of contention and
many are still confused by the lies spread regarding his
background, his biggest struggle will be against two-plus centuries
of negative feelings toward blacks in certain areas and
demographics of the U.S., passed down within families like
heirlooms.
   In the other corner you have McCain, the 71-year-old Republican
brawler from Arizona who fought through two horrific experiences —
a fire aboard the USS Forrestal that killed 134 sailors, and a nearly
six-year torturous stay in Viet Cong custody in Hanoi which included
two years in solitary confinement and other horrors beyond
explanation.
   Nine years after his release, McCain entered the combative arena of
politics. In the subsequent 26 years he has not always toed the
Republican line, and has joined Democrats in numerous battles,
including against the tobacco industry in 1998 when he received
next to no support from his own party. His less than fundamentalist
approaches to illegal immigration, abortion, and religion have
soured many would-be supporters, and he too will have a tussle on
his hands to win those folks over by November.
   Both fighters have their distinct strengths. While McCain’s public
speaking can be as painful as an Andrew Golota blow to the groin,
Obama is the Muhammad Ali of political orators. Obama’s
Washington experience is somewhat limited, and there’s no doubt
McCain’s service and sacrifice for America are his primary
advantages in the tale-of-the-tape. The big question is how much
McCain will be weighted down by Bush’s bungling. That burden
could feel like leaving the corner with Butterbean strapped to your
leg.
   No matter which cheering section you are a part of — or if you are
still undecided — it is going to be an entertaining showdown, with
the future of the free world and parts elsewhere on the line. At stake
is a title that hasn’t been this sullied since Richard Milhous Nixon
gave his infamous four-fingered salute as he vacated the White
House grounds in shame 34 years ago. With the current state of
affairs, the loser could be the luckiest guy on Earth, but the winner
could also join the pantheon of America’s greatest leaders … only
time will tell.
   Best of luck, gentlemen, and as Michael Buffer would say, “LET’S
GET READY TO RUMBLE!”

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