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How Does A President Say “No Mas?”
Monty Pelerin / EconomicNoise.com
What does a politician, deeply involved in a campaign, do if he wants to quit?
It is an unusual question, made even more difficult to answer in that so few politicians willingly do so. But that may be the issue that Barack Obama is facing, even so late in this campaign.
A few months ago, everything looked rosy for the president. The Republican Party nominated the man he wanted to run against. The president’s popularity, though not at a high, pointed to an easy re-election. Then, suddenly, matters turned
- The economy weakened.
- Ethical and judgmental issues began to surface.
- Foreign policy turned disastrous.
- Mitt Romney was not the Caspar Milquetoast anticipated.
Politics and Boxing
Politics is not croquet. It is more like boxing, a one-on-one contest that can be brutal. Politicians only stay in office by beating up on opponents.
Political debates are the equivalent of boxing matches. Candidates vie for supremacy via verbal jousting. Seventy million people witnessed the first debate. It was an old-fashioned beat-down — one man figuratively administering a thrashing to the other. Obama was shown to be under-sized, under-equipped and under-trained. Had it been a boxing match it would have been stopped inside of three rounds.
Political fans were surprised by the one-sided outcome. Obama rooters suffered two surprises. They underestimated the opponent and vastly overestimated their guy. Romney fans had one surprise and it was a pleasant one — they underestimated their guy. Objective political observers were probably more surprised by the performance of Romney than the collapse of Obama.
As I watched the first Romney – Obama debate, it reminded me of a boxing match which took place on February 25, 1964. It was the first championship fight for Cassius Clay. Clay, like Romney, was a prohibitive underdog, entering the ring as a 7:1 underdog. Most people gave him no chance.
Sonny Liston was the heavyweight champion of the world, a brute of a man. Liston was an ex-con who many fighters were afraid to engage. He was a one-man wrecking ball. He was tough, strong and mean. Compared to him, Mike Tyson could pass for a choir boy. Liston’s scowl was enough to make most men take an automatic eight-count.
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