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Basketball and politics: When Obama plays, he wins elections
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President-elect Barack Obama has a ritual before every big election -- he plays basketball.
During the Iowa caucus and South Carolina primary he played and won both contests. He did not play the day of the New Hampshire primary and Nevada caucuses, and lost.
Needless to say, he played basketball on November 4th and history was made.
Several NBA players have expressed support of the future president including all-star forward LeBron James. James led a get out and vote rally in Cleveland and donated $20,000 to Obama's campaign. Obama's plan to raise taxes for U.S. citizens making $250,000 or more doesn't seem to bother this league of millionaires. Chicago Bulls forward Drew Gooden said, "If that's going to make it a better world from paying 48 (percent tax rate) to 51 or 54 it ain't going to hurt us that much. If it's going to help the world, we're ready to do it."
Another African-American who made history on November 4 is former Phoenix Suns guard Kevin Johnson. KJ became the first black mayor of Sacramento. The 42-year-old Democrat with conservative views defeated two-term incumbent Heather Fargo in a run-off election. Johnson said, "Both Obama and myself, we ran on a promise and the theme of change. No more business as usual."
A former teammate of Johnson's -- Charles Barkley -- is planning to run for governor in his home state of Alabama in 2010. "Alabama, that's my home. I'm thinking about running for governor; they need my help," Charles Barkley said.
Barkley and Johnson are not the first ballers to delve into politics. Former New York Knicks forward Bill Bradley ran for U.S. Senate in 1978 and held his senate seat for a total of 18 years. Bradley ran in the 2000 presidential primaries with endorsements from Michael Jordan and his former teammate Phil Jackson. Bradley eventually lost his presidential bid to former Vice President Al Gore.
This global enthusiasm surrounding Barack Obama may lead the charge for current and former NBA players to take the plunge into politics. Obama has inspired America and other nations to bring about change for the betterment of all people. If these pro athletes follow suit, maybe the masses will stop viewing them as over-paid trouble making thugs.
Obama will be sworn in on January 20, 2009. One of his first orders of business is to build a basketball court in the White House. This will be scoffed at by critics even though good luck follows every one of Obama's basketball games.
I believe with a struggling economy and multiple wars being fought he's going to need all the luck he can get.
For more info: http://www.allnbatalk.com/
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