Round Two - Democratic Underground

H2O Man

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Mon Oct-06-08 07:52 AM
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Round Two

{1} "Among over eight thousand seat holders in Miami’s big Convention Hall, I received Seat Number Seven. Seven has always been my favorite number. It has followed me throughout my life. I took this to be Allah’s message confirming to me that Cassius Clay was going to win. Along with Cassius, I really was more worried about how his brother Rudolph was going to do, fighting his first pro fight in the preliminaries.

"While Rudolph was winning a four-round decision over ….’Chip’ Johnson, Cassius stood at the rear of the auditorium watching calmly, dressed in a black tuxedo. After all his months of antics, after the weigh-in act that Cassius had put on, this calmness should have tipped off some of the sportswriters who were predicting Clay’s slaughter.

"Then Cassius disappeared, dressing to meet Liston. ….Finally, he and Liston were in their corners in the ring. I folded my arms and tried to appear the coolest man in the place, because a television camera can show you looking like a fool yelling at a prizefight."
--The Autobiography of Malcolm X; page 314.

The second Obama - McCain debate will be the first important heavyweight bout in Tennessee since Lennox Lewis defended his title against Mike Tyson on June 8, 2002. In his prime, sports writers had considered Mike Tyson to be the reincarnation of Sonny Liston. Like Liston, hee won many of his fights before the first bell rang, by intimidating opponents. Tyson was a scary man, known for violent outbursts, which were attributed to his years as a POW in his private war against society. More, Tyson was a dirty fighter, who was willing – even eager – to break as many rules in the ring as he broke laws outside the squared circle. If he could have gotten away with it, Tyson would have brought a knife to his fights.

Like Liston, the only thing Mike Tyson feared was a man who he could not intimidate. Thus, in the pre-fight publicity, he spouted lines such as saying he wanted to eat Lennox Lewis’s children. During their final press conference, Tyson started a fight with Lewis’s people, and actually bit Lewis’s leg in the melee that followed. After they were separated, Tyson blamed the media for his problems, and challenged one journalist to fight him.

When the fighters entered the ring, a large group of security forces kept the two apart. Although boxing experts favored Lewis, many at ringside wondered if the dispassionate champion could handle the vicious attack they anticipated Tyson unleashing. But those questions were answered when Lewis demonstrated the advantages of bringing a gun to a knife fight. His counter-punches left Mike Tyson a pitiful, bloody lump on the mat.

{2} "I’m the man you think you are. ….And if you want to know what I’ll do, figure out what you’ll do. I’ll do the same thing – only more of it."
--Malcolm X; February 7, 1965.

After the first round of the three Obama vs McCain debates, the media focused largely on John McCain’s obvious dislike and disrespect for Barack Obama. The public saw that when McCain attempted to become aggressive, and intimidate Obama, the younger fighter was able to counter with solid jabs that landed right on target. Now, after Joseph Biden decisioned Sarah Palin on the undercard, the anticipation is growing for the second round in the main event.

McCain’s camp has been trash-talking in the lead-up to round two. Sarah Palin, for example, has been chattering about her actual world construct, which is that Obama represents the dark force and that Santa God’s divine will is to have her rescue the "saved." The media has been discrediting her wild attacks, including pointing out that it is part of a rather desperate attempt to save a failed campaign.

As a result, John McCain is seething: like Mike Tyson, he holds the media responsible for his own weaknesses. Thus, as the journalists prepare to watch the second round from their ringside seats, they wonder if McCain will attempt to use dirty tactics in Tennessee.

I think that Barack Obama is fully prepared for any tactic McCain may use. If McCain throws a low blow early, I expect Obama’s first counter-punch to be to define for the viewing audience what McCain is doing, and why. He might say that we all remember the previous republican attempts to throw fear into the elections. In 2004, for example, there was the infamous wolf-pack commercial. But today, the public recognizes that it is John McCain who is attempting to "save the Wall Street wolves" that are knocking on our doors.

By "respectfully" mocking his opponent, Obama will ensure that John McCain becomes enraged. He will lose his focus, which is to try to solidify his base, which already resents that he may cause republican loses in congressional elections. McCain will begin to throw punches out of desperation. And then Barack Obama will punish him. If McCain pulls out a knife, Obama will pull out a gun. By the end of the second round, McCain will be hurt and confused, staggering along the ropes. The referee will likely try to protect him, but there will be no doubt of the eventual outcome of this contest.

John Keating McCain has been an active participant in the assault on the American middle class, who has been capitalizing on the Wall Street-banking scams. Now he is going to have to pay his dues. Tuesday night, he will be exposed for his actions.

Enjoy the debate.