Barack to the Future

Every year, around March, I tell my wife, my son, my friends and anyone else who will listen that the Chicago Cubs are going all the way, that they are destined to sweep through the playoffs and the World Series to erase 98, 99 and now 100 years of pain and misery.

And each year, my family and friends look at me and smile, the way people do when they love you but think you're hopelessly misguided, or worse, delusional.

So it came as no surprise to anyone when I announced, months ago, that Barack Obama would run away with this election.

I wasn't just saying Obama would win, or that the election would be a squeaker. I was talking blowout. The planets were aligned, the gods were smiling on Chicago, and Barack and the Cubs would march lockstep into history.

It just goes to show that electing a black man president of the United States is easier than bringing a world championship to Wrigley Field.

Remember that scene in Bull Durham, when the frustrated manager herds his players into the shower room and berates them with the basics of baseball?

"This is a simple game. You throw the ball. You catch the ball. You hit the ball. Got it?"

My poor Cubs lost sight of that simplicity in their brief visit to the playoffs this year. Their pitching fell apart. Their normally sure-footed fielders booted the ball. And they simply didn't hit.

It was a disaster. But then came Obama, who won in a cakewalk by sticking to the fundamentals.

Great pitching. Obama's message was sharp and consistent, inspiring hundreds of thousands of people to register for the first time. Those folks were never captured by the polling numbers, which already gave Obama an edge. The newbies turned out in droves, along with many disaffected voters who decided to get back in the game.

Slick fielding. The backstory of this election will be Obama's incredible field operation. Thousands of staffers and volunteers won this race on the ground by ringing doorbells, making phone calls and getting out the vote in hard-fought battleground states like Ohio, Virginia and Nevada.

Timely hitting. Obama's campaign refused to let any attack or rumor go unanswered and used the power of the web to hit back, day after day. Obama got his at-bats in states Democrats have written off for years, changing the dynamics of the race and, perhaps, the political landscape of the nation.

He won it all. And he won it big.

Sure, we've got some tough times ahead. Forget the honeymoon. There's work to be done.

But last night, Barack Obama reminded us that anything is possible in America. And I for one believe him.

And you know what that means? That's right: The Cubs.

Next year, I really think they're going to win it all.

Comments

[bobfoster]

Jimmy boy....you­'re my favorite brother-in-law (if you are wondering, I'm not not the ass kissing brother-in-law who lives in East Tennessee). I am so thrilled to see this article appear on one of my favorite sites, but quite disappointed that we never got to have discussions about the presidential race. By the way...give me a head's up on your next post and give that beautiful wife of yours a kiss for me! Great article...­let's talk soon.

[Lynn Voedisch - Huffpost Blogger]

Oh, Jim,

It's been A WHILE! But I still love you! Listen I was a crazy person for being for Obama right from the beginning. People looked at me funny. I drove around with a "Women for Obama" bumper sticker for almost two years. Nuts. Meshuga.
I also thought this was The Year for the Cubs. I had the W t-shirt and everything.
Okay, we are 1 for 2.
Next year we are going all the way.
Nice to catch up with you this way.

[Jim Ylisela - Huffpost Blogger]

LynnVo!! Nice to see you, too. Hang on to that wet t-shirt. Your time will come.

Coolmaiden: I understand completely. I'll check back with you after the winter of your discontent.

[Lynn Voedisch - Huffpost Blogger]

It was a W t-shirt, not a wet t-shirt, you with the dirty mind.

[coolmaiden]

I'm still too happy from last night and too angry with the Cubs to acknowledge consensus with you. But ask me again in April.