Four Reasons Why Hoosiers Should Pass the Ball to Obama

My 'rock road' cred:

Though I have lived in California for over half my life, I grew up in Indiana, on a farm five miles southwest of Ireland, Indiana, in the southern part of the state. My mom, Fern still lives on the farm. My brothers and cousins are capable of giving me endless grief about what a delicate flower I've become (some will tell you I've always been) how I'd much rather shoot skeet than deer, how I will goof around with a turtle I find in a field when I should be digging post holes, what a chickenshit I am on the four-wheelers, or how I refuse to drink Pucker -- whatever the hell that stuff is. But we will always love each other no matter what, and Indiana, and our farm in particular, is still the land to which my life is rooted.

The smell of new-mown hay, the moonlight on the Wabash, Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson, the taste of real produce grown near Vincennes, the Little Five, Mellencamp's music, and open-wheeled racing give me pangs of nostalgia to this day.

I am writing this partially in support of Senator Obama, but just as much as an homage to all my deer-hunting, Pucker drinking, four-wheel riding Hoosier homies, many of whom are blood.

Here are four reasons as solid as a John Wooden basketball drill why you should be the ones to put an exclamation point on the Obama campaign by passing him the ball next Tuesday.

Reason One: Caginess. As any Hoosier can tell you, a cager is a basketball player. What they do not tell you, or let on very often, is that Hoosiers are cagey folks. They may come off like rubes to you and smell faintly of something that was not bought in a store, but they cannot be outfoxed. When the NCAA appropriated "March Madness" Sweet Sixteen and "Final Four" from Indiana's high school basketball tournament for its own use, the city of Indianapolis ended up as the location of the NCAA's new national headquarters, and all the revenue and jobs it generated for the state.

Obama's a cager and he is cagey, too. He has not been thrown off his game by Hillary's Kitchen Sink offense, or by a hot-dogging teammate like Jeremiah Wright who's taking ridiculous shots from behind the arc when he should be running the offense and playing his role. And he certainly has the game to stuff a two-hand set-shooter like "Branch" McCain, good as the Ol' Branchster might have been in his day.

Reason Two: Growth Determines Harvest. As any Hoosier can tell you, if you are going to be productive in the fall, you've got to work hard and have some luck with the weather in the spring and early summer. Hillary was busy counting her chickens before they hatched on Super Tuesday while Obama was busy lining up caucuses and building his organization. Because he has been so productive early in the growing season, Obama not only has the lead right now, he is the candidate best prepared to reap a bumper crop of votes come November. All he needs is nice steady shower of Hoosier support on May 6.

Reason Three: Patience. As any Hoosier can also tell you, things can take awhile. A quilt gets made one stitch at a time. If you get in a hurry about getting the cow back into the barn, the cow will not go back into the barn. Somewhere on his journey, Obama learned a similar kind of patience. He knows that lasting solutions do not have quick fixes, that they can take awhile. Hoosiers laugh at the idea that a single sandbag like the Clinton-McCain gas relief plan can stop the flood of money going to Arab Emirates and the oil companies. A vote for Obama is a vote acknowledging that Hoosier-style patience and hard work are what it's going to take to get the economy back on track.

Reason Four: Calmness at Crunch Time. As any Hoosier can tell you, when the game was on the line, Bird was unflappable. He wanted the ball in his hands, and every man, woman and child of us wanted him to have it.

The Clintons are formidable players, make no mistake about that. They are not the kind of players anybody wants to play against, you'd much rather have them on your team. They set a vicious pick. They hustle and scrap hard, and they hold you by the jersey and throw elbows when they think the ref isn't looking. They are tireless and do not have any quit in their constitutions. Like the Van Arsdale twins they can confuse you as to which of them is which with the old 'knee-pad switch' trick.

But when the game is on the line, as it is with this election, we want the ball in Obama's hands. He has Bird's unflappable calm, and like Bird, the bigger the game, the more difficult the circumstances, the better he plays. Give Barrack the ball on Tuesday. It will be one hell of an assist.

Comments

[kmkm]

Nice refreshing approach! The strongly independent folks are the most enthusiastic for Sen. Obama.
Indiana? Independent??

[KiwisCanFly]

I ejoyed this article, thanks Mike Bonifer.

[bsworld]

This was a wonderful and well written article. I, unfortunately am from Pennsylvania, where they were to blind to see what the Clintons were about. I am a die hard Obama supporter. I also have family in IN who will be voting for Obama as well. We feel that he will represent real change unlike Clinton with more of the same. I really hope IN are wise enough to see through the Clintons, they only care about beating Obama not looking out for the american people.

[klynnrn]

I'm from Southern Indiana as well but have little confidence in my state for voters to support Barack Obama. I continue to hear that he's Muslim, that white's will become second-class citizens, that he believes Rev. Wright's ranting, on and on and on. There is much evidence of racism here as 50 years ago. They will also be fooled by the Gas Tax Holiday because they don't understand the workings of Washington. I am trying hard to convince people to vote for Obama but it is definitely an uphill climb!

[Tedderdog]

Great Post

[lotuslike]

beautiful post...thank you!

[ObserverinVancouver]

What a great article. What great comments. I'd been thinking that Sen. Obama's basketball cred might help in Indiana (and North Carolina, too, since they seem to have a not too shabby basketball tradition).

[longislandlol]

Good analogies--- yes-- may the force of the Hoosiers prevail-- Hoosiers are not Pennsylvanians-- they are more like the great Illinois people who produced Lincoln and Obama...

[terraprieto]

As a California voter in June of 1992, I cast my vote not for Jerry Brown, my governor and favorite candidate, but instead for an inexperienced, charismatic governor of a small state, Bill Clinton. It was clear that he would be the nominee, and I wanted to add my little boost to strengthen him going into the convention and the fall election.

Thank you for your consideration.

[terraprieto]

If the perception is widespread that Obama won the delegate count but lost the popular vote, it will weaken our Democratic nominee and cause feelings of resentment among Clinton supporters. Our best hope of winning in the fall is with a strong nominee who was fairly chosen because he won the most pledged delegates and the most popular votes. The large popular vote expected for Clinton in Puerto Rico may make Obama fall short in the popular vote.

If you've concluded, as I have, that our likely nominee, Senator Barack Obama, is worthy of your vote in the fall, I urge you to consider voting for him May 6. I think it is a wise move for everyone who hopes for a Democratic victory in the fall.

Even if Obama is not your first choice now, your vote in his column of the popular vote would be a gesture of hope for a Democratic victory in November. Doing so will help unite the Democratic Party and give us our best chance for a win in the general election.
(cont)

[terraprieto]

We're counting on you, Hoosiers!
And Tarheels, too.

Indiana and North Carolina Democrats, your help is needed to avert a trainwreck awaiting us in Puerto Rico. In the U.S. territory, citizens do not vote in presidential general elections, but they are given a voice in the Democratic primary.

Puerto Rico's Democratic party decided, on March 8 of this year, to hold a primary rather than a caucus to allocate it's 55 delegates. This decision was made after it became clear that in a close contest, the total popular vote -- no matter how skewed a figure, due to the mix of primary and caucus states -- would become an important number in discussions about the nomination. States that had already had their caucuses, in full accordance with the rules established before the primary season began, did not have the re-do option.

Colorado and Puerto Rico have been allocated the same number of pledged delegates, 55. With Puerto Rico holding a primary with an expected turnout of at least a million voters, its popular vote will likely equal the total caucus votes of Colorado PLUS the primary votes of South Carolina, New Hampshire, Delaware, and Utah, combined. Puerto Rico will thus have a popular vote equivalent vote strength of 160 pledged delegates, rather than their allocated 55. (cont)

[Ariesjill]

FABULOUS.

Now, all we gotta do is encourage Hillary to hire THE THANKFULLY at liberty Isiah Thomas to return to his ROOTS. That is what will insure the outcome of these playoffs: OBAMA drops a 3 pointer AT THE BUZZER.

[rikyrah]

I like this post. Has heart and humor.

[KareninSM]

What a lovely piece.
I was sold on Obama before he announced, because from everything I read, he seemed to be that rare bird, a supremely mentally healthy grown-up. Everything he's done since has reinforced that impression. "Let's put an adult in charge" may not be a very sexy slogan, but boyoboy do we need one.

[vcsmith]

Hopefully you logic will come into play. At this point, It looks like the Hoosiers are going for Hillary. At least we can't say Obama is trying to run up the score.

[IAM4CLINTON]

i just finished reading Obama's book- "Dreams from a father"- beautifully written and enjoyed reading it.

However, the book is revealing to me on Obama and his experience as a community organizer that he talks about- Obama is naive, idealistic , has a crisis of identity and is very left leaning; his experience as described in the book is really on some very small issues that I have seen many in my own neighborhood do daily- dealing with an apartment building, or bringing a grocery store to the neighborhood etc- all nice, good things BUT certainly not the kind that will prepare someone for the toughest job in the world- POTUS.
If Obama is the Dem nominee- our party will be throwing yet another election over to the GOP- I will grieve for not just my party but for my country and its people as well.

[vcsmith]

I think you in the wrong blog!

[abigail1]

Obama wrote that book about 15 years ago when he was 31 or so. It is not the sum total of his experience or his views.
Do not start your grieving now, Obama can win in November, and I believe that he will win, but he will need your support to do it.

[Bonifer]

I think bringing grocery stores to the neighborhood and dealing with problems in apartment buildings is great experience for someone who wants to be President, and I think the fact that you see people in your own neighborhood doing such things speaks to the essence of Obama's leadership, which is so different from the 'lead from the top' mentalities of traditional politicians like Clinton and McCain. Obama sees leadership as something that happens in neighborhoods, something that is within everyone's reach, not something that emanates from people who think they know what's best for your neighborhood while never having set foot in it.