Obama Says He's the Miami Heat, Romney is Jeremy Lin

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Obama is competitive. It's a requirement, one would hope, to run for President. But the New York Times' Jodi Kantor writes that Obama might over competitive. Deep in the story is a juicy anecdote of Obama comparing himself to Lebron and co. in Miami, and Romney to Jeremy Lin.

First: Obama's competitiveness. It's extensive. Like, he's even competitive when it comes to recreational bowling. In February, when someone asked if he had what it took to win again in November, he opted for a basketball analogy to get his point across:.


http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/09/obama-says-hes-miami-heat-romney-jeremy-lin/56458/

[dkf]

1. Great way to win the Asian vote. Not.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. I Doubt It Will Move Any Votes

But if it moves enough votes in FL Rmoney is effectively checkmated. There is no realistic path to a Republicant victory in November that doesn't include Florida.

[abumbyanyothername]

11. You were doing great.

Until the last four words.

There are so many "must win" states for the GOP that you can just leave the "that doesn't include FLA" off the end of your sentence.

[kestrel91316]

3. You always manage to get concerned about the strangest things.

[dkf]

4. Jeremy Lin is a big deal in the Asian community.

I could care less about NBA basketball, but I started following him with great interest and pride. His is the story of perseverance and of daring to defy the nerd stereotypes and of being overlooked because you don't look right.

Moreover he is home grown, a good person and a great example.

Obama should know better coming from Hawaii. We have enough of a complex of feeling overlooked. Look at how often everything is broken down by race with no mention whatsoever of Asian-Americans.

[kestrel91316]

5. Look, your dislike of Obama and all things Democratic is glaringly obvious.

You can blab all you want to try to justify your comments but it's simply not going to wash with me.

At least I know where to come any time I want to know the latest RW talking points.

[dkf]

7. I donated to him and canvassed for him. What did you do?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. Who Cares What Race A Player Is If He Can Ball?

Jeremy Lin was hyped as the savior of the Knicks and now he isn't even with the team. Before Lin and the Knicks faced the Heat he was playing at a super high level. Against the Heat he played poorly.

[dkf]

8. Maybe this sportswriter can explain it to you...

Obama compared Mitt Romney to Jeremy Lin. I don’t get it.
Kurt Helin Sep 3, 2012, 10:10 AM EDT
AP

For a guy known for his oratory skills, this Barack Obama shot at Mitt Romney looks like an Andrew Bynum three pointer.

--

Um… bad analogy.

I get what you are going for, at least I think I do — that you have the better team who can shut down this overhyped newcomer. Like the Heat did to Lin.

But part of Lin’s appeal is he is the American dream — the kid is not the most athletic guy on the court but he worked hard, played smart, got the most out of the talent given him, played for free at the most prestigious academic institution in the nation (there are no scholarships at Harvard), fought to make an NBA roster and when really given a chance in the right setting exploded on the scene. He parlayed that into a big contract and success.
Part of Jeremy Lin’s appeal is we can all see ourselves as Lin in a way we never could with LeBron James or a big man like Dwight Howard. None of the rest of us were gifted like that. Lin, we can relate to him.

Let me try to help, Mr. President. I think the analogy you want is “We’re the Miami Heat, he’s the Brooklyn Nets.” That’s a team put together by a billionaire with most of his money locked up overseas, a team that has some talent but is unproven, a team that was put together on an old-rules model not really thinking through the long-term consequences (in the Nets case the new luxury tax costs and restrictions mixed with Joe Johnson’s contract). I think that is more what you were going for.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/03/obama-compared-mitt-romney-to-jeremy-lin-i-dont-get-it/

[Nye Bevan]

10. Yeah, I never heard of a campaign attempting to appeal to as many ethnic groups as possible.

Weird.

[zonkers]

9. It is simply an analogy regarding strategy. I don't see it as an attack on Lin

that references his race.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. If You Are An NBA Fan

The Heat applied a lot of full court pressure on Lin and flummoxed him. Prior to that he was the one who was doing all the flummoxing. His race is of no moment. He could have been from Mars.