Play some ball, Barack!

I wrote in an earlier post that one advantage Obama has in Indiana is that he can play basketball, which is a big deal in the Hoosier state. OK, it's not a huge advantage. And I don't think he wants to have a picture taken of him in sweats - not very presidential. But the candidates give lots of speeches in gyms. He could give a speech, fire up the crowd, and accept a pass from someone in the audience, turn around, and throw one in from where he'sjust given the speech. Of course, there's always the risk that he'll miss. But if takes more than one shot, he'll make several. And it would erase the image of him bowling a 37 in Pa.

Of course, there's an interesting racial dynamic. Basketball is dominated by black players, and while some have good images, the one with the best image, Magic Johnson, endorsed Hillary. On the other hand, Michael Jordan played his best ball in Chicago, and I'm pretty sure he endorsed Obama. So shooting some hoops might reinforce the image of Obama as a black candidate.

Except that basketball in Indiana has, as far as I know, been very much a white sport, and I'm assuming there are still a fair number of white guys jumping in high school and college. And one of the best white players of all time, Larry Bird, is from there. I wonder if he's endorsed anybody?