Tiger Woods plays politics on the Today show

October 10, 9:41 AMSports ExaminerPaula Duffy

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  Tiger and Elin Woods

Well he's got to play something now that he's off the golf course, doesn't he? Actually he's playing at being more of a mogul which we already knew he was. Does he have to shove it in our faces when many of us are watching our life savings going up in smoke?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Tiger Woods fan. Other than the Ryder Cup I haven't watched a match since he went down with his knee injuires in June. I know he has other business interests and is a pitchman for brands of watches, grooming products and automobiles.

Recently however, the media has featured Tiger's golf course design business and that is not accidental. He is the master of controlling the information flow about himself and has carefully crafted his image. While undergoing rehabilitation there are just so many interviews he can give about when he'll return to the tour.

Mogul Tiger now takes the stage. He sits for interviews that are about his projects in Dubai and Mexico which aren't just golf courses; they are resorts with a Tiger-designed golf wonderland embedded within. One can never presume that there will be enough millionaires left after this latest financial markets collapse. So Tiger knows it's important to get out there and spread the word about how you can drape yourself in Tiger's cache by buying a home or condo near his latest projects

In the course of a long interview shown on the Today show this morning he was asked who he was supporting in the presidential race. Tiger smiled and said he was supporting "one of the candidates." When pressed he declined to elaborate and in response to a question about why he doesn't discuss his political choices he said that it makes life too complicated.

Michael Jordan wrote the book on how to conceal anything personal that might divide a fan base and smart athletes have followed his advice. But Tiger gives you just enough through his website and in press conferences to spin the illusion that you know him and his family. He has successfully made himself into a mirror, at least on the subject of politics. He sends back the image of who is looking at him. If you are a Republican you might think that he is a rich athlete who votes his pocket book. If you are a Democrat and look at Woods as a multi-racial figure of importance in this country you might be inclined to believe he is sympathetic to Barack Obama.

He hasn't lost the art of keeping you at arm's length while exuding warmth and that is unique to Tiger. At least we know he has an opinion on the presidential race. We'll just never know what it is.