Why Doesn't Obama's Basketball Knowledge Help Him in Hoosier Country?

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have been fighting for the Democratic nomination for months now, but the primary results keep breaking down along the same demographic lines.

Currently, Obama and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton are neck-and-neck in Indiana, a (perhaps the) basketball-crazed state full of the same sort of white, working-class voters that proved so difficult for Obama to court in Pennsylvania.

But do voters care if a candidate can ball? Obama's campaign clearly thinks so.

Which is why the senator spent the last week dribbling down courts in Hoosier and Tar Heel country, showing off the moves he learned in younger days. He played five-on-five in North Carolina with that state's beloved boys from UNC, and three-on-three with high school players in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in an event announced by former Indiana great Calbert Cheaney. Even before that, he accepted an invitation -- the same invitation was declined by the Clinton campaign -- to appear on Indianapolis sports talk radio, discussing IU hoopster Eric Gordon's decision to go pro with hosts Eddie White and Bob Kravitz.

White later gushed: "He dropped Eric Gordon's name like he was calling from the east side of Indianapolis! ... I'm going to vote for him." Does anyone other than appreciative radio hosts feel this way? Would Obama have been just as better served to spend those days talking to folks in diners?

I asked Marjorie Hershey, political science professor at Indiana University, who said that there's little direct evidence of how sports influence political campaigns. "Hoosiers do love their basketball," Hershey said. "I can see why images of Obama would contribute to their sense of him as a person."

But that's as far as she would go. Despite the long history of politicians using sports references to suggest authenticity, Hershey knew of no academic studies on the intersection of sports and electability.

Which seems weird. We can all agree that it would be nice if voters cared more about policy than personal issues, but they usually don't. Not when one botched sports reference follows a candidate around for a decade.

Still, If early predictions hold, neither basketball nor Tony Dungy's well wishes will likely be enough to put a candidate over the top in Hoosier country. Not until Bob Knight runs.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-06-2008 @ 5:04PM

JCN said...

I think HRC's nod from John Cougar canceled out the baller magic. There is no zone defense that can withstand the power of a rally that opens 'Scarecrow' and closes with 'Key West Intermezzo.'

5-06-2008 @ 10:38PM

Martin said...

My guess is that many of the voters in Indiana love Amerrica more than they love basketball, and the comments of Rev. Wright and Mrs. Obama didn't sit very well with them.

5-06-2008 @ 11:11PM

tonkyhonker said...

I think Obama's voters are more open minded and smarter than you make them out to be martin. Or, are you just making a case for not liking the Brown guy, but pass it off as how "those other people feel?" I'm surprised no one commented on the writer of this piece for its poor, poor quality; doesn't qualify as an article, in the real world. He's pretty much a dull boy and wonder which relative of his gave him the opportunity to appear here. He actually wasted Hershey's time and all he came back with was THAT? Then, he used the term 'ball?' He's so typical of a lame white guy trying to come across cool. Naw, ain't there, can't happen. Did they pay you for that crap you call an article, Brennan?

5-06-2008 @ 11:40PM

tonkyhonker- why do you bring in the race card? Why not respond to the point I made, instead? Is it because you have no good response? Do you agree with the published comments of Rev. Wright that the U.S. was responsible for 9/11? Do you damn America? Or do you really believe that Mr. Obama was unaware of the many comments of Rev. Wright during the many years he was his spiritual advisor.

5-07-2008 @ 12:09AM

George B Vieto said...

Indianans voted for Hillary over Barack probably over the gas tax removal for the summer.

5-07-2008 @ 12:23AM

§ said...

If Obama's bball IQ equates to votes I think we're in big trouble as a society

5-07-2008 @ 4:14AM

tdbrought said...

"Do you agree with the published comments of Rev. Wright"

Martin;

Did Obama agree with those comments? Oh he denounced them never mind. Did McCain denounce Hagee calling Catholics "swine" and "whores?" Oh he appeared on stage with him and encouraged Hagee's endorsement and campaign advisement.

5-07-2008 @ 4:17AM

And before you get into the whole "he sat in the church!!!" argument, lots of people go to church and don't mindlessly agree with everything their preacher/pastor says. My girlfriend has been going to the same Catholic Church for 30 years, since she was born. She doesn't follow everything her pastor says (a plus since I don't want any children and her pastor wants her to hate gay people like her brother).

5-07-2008 @ 11:57AM

tdbrought- He did a lot more than sit at the church. Rev. Wright was a large part of Mr. Obama's personal life. And Mr. Obama claimed that he had never heard such remarks prior to their publication, despite having a close personal relationship with Rev. Wright, and only denounced the comments after they were made public and he saw it was hurting him in the polls. Oh, and of course Mrs. Obama made similar remarks.

5-07-2008 @ 9:05PM

Michelle Obama said the US created AIDS? Please cite. I suspect the only thing you can cite is an edited speech of hers omitting the word "really" in front of the word "proud." If you're a real investigatory journalist you may be able to reproduce her thesis from college 25 years ago. And of course you'll say this proves she hates white people. Of course, she did marry a white guy. She chose to have children that are 1/4 white. She chose to spend every holiday, every family celebration with a white family (Barack Obama doesn't have a single black relative in America). All of which indicates she doesn't really hate white people. I don't know many members of the KKK that married a black guy, do you? But go ahead and listen to Limbaugh. Therein lies the "truth."

5-07-2008 @ 9:09PM

BTW considering Cindy McCain was McCain's mistress when he cheated on his first wife and was arrested for stealing drugs from a nonprofit you may not want to go into the "which first lady is worse" game. The woman steals drugs from little poor children. You think she's a paragon of virtue?

5-08-2008 @ 11:21AM

mj said...

What he should have done, if he wanted to court all those basketball votes, was talk about how Kelvin Sampson screwed up the Hoosiers.

5-08-2008 @ 2:32PM

tdbrought- As I noted above, try to have a discussion with Obama supporters and they always play the race card. I am not calling Mr. Obama a racist. I am saying that he has a much more negative view of America and what it has accomplished in the past 100 years than do I.

One is generally judged by the persons with whom one associates, and because of Mr. Obama's limited experience in the political arena, in attempting to evaluate his ability to lead this country, that maxim becomes even more important. The two persons closest to Mr. Obama for the last many years have been his wife and Rev. Wright.

Both Rev. Wright and Michele Obama have verbally criticized America. When Michele Obama states that until her husband won a primary election, she had never been proud of America (the word "really" was only added in a later speech), that shows a mindset that concerns me. When Rev. Wright condemns the United States, that also shows a mindset that concerns me.

The United States is not perfect by any means and has made a lot of mistakes, but its heart is generally in the right place. It leads the world in humanitarian aid, has sacrificed the lives of many of its soldiers to protect those who cannot protect themselves, has pushed countries to allow more freedom for their citizens, and much more often then naught, is the good guy in this world. Neither Reverend Wright nor Michele Obama share this viewpoint, and one can only conclude that Mr. Obama has a similar mindset.

P.S., as you are apparently a member of the party that brought us John Kennedy and Bill Clinton, I find it interesting that you now feel that fidelity it an important virtue. When did you have this epiphany.

5-08-2008 @ 5:03PM

tdbrought- One final point. One would think Michele Obama would at least have been proud of America when her husband was elected to the Senate, especially since SHE received a large pay increase-from $121,910 in 2004 to $316,962 in 2005.

5-09-2008 @ 2:10AM

Martin;

If you had ever bothered to read either of Barack Obama's books you would know that he is proud of America and expressed so many times. Either way, you are part of a sad party that lost its way a decade ago. Gnash your teeth and insist your bizarre hatred of Michelle Obama for hating America* is rational, whilst your support of a convicted criminal first lady in Cindy McCain shows your red white and blues. I'm not insisting on fidelity, but a guy who marries a criminal mistress merely because she's worth millions doesn't get much cred in my book.

* -- based on one line she said once. You cannot find a second speech where she didn't say the word "really" Want to know why?

Because she messed up in one speech. Sean Hannity repeated it and here is his parrot two months later.

Fortunately your ancient candidate has decided to run on national security while simultaneously forgetting which side we are fighting, making him a guaranteed disaster in the fall. Well over half his party cannot stand him already, and he's hardly even been noticed while Obama steald the headlines. You have to support the military genius who can't tell Shiite from Sunni. When the two of you are in the dust, America can repair the damage you have supported and move on.

And moving on is what I am doing. Your months old retread arguments would be sad if I weren't laughing.