Good Sport

... "like Tebow, she keeps fighting and she just keeps winning votes." Those were the words that rang into the January air as Michelle Bachmann made her last ditch effort to save her campaign. Never mind the fact that Tim Tebow, quarterback of the Denver Broncos, has lost his last three games and comes into the playoffs on a wing and a prayer. Literally. It is convenient shorthand for Ms. Bachmann to connect herself to one of the most prominent Christians to show up on a football field in recent memory. She wants to be seen in the same divine light as the NFL's posterboy for abstinence.
I know. I just got finished making an analogy about football and the upcoming election. I should point out that what I was doing was satire. It was tongue in cheek. I don't think that comparing Barack Obama to Aaron Rodgers is a legitimate apples to apples kind of thing. I was making a joke.
Ms. Bachmann was not. Her ad says that the sports "establishment" wants Tebow to fail because he makes everyone feel guilty - he's gifted yet "doesn't drink, smoke, cuss or even kick his opponents when they're on the ground." It contends, "The establishment just loves to hate Michelle Bachmann and her no-compromise, no flip-flop stand on the issues." The establishment, or at least part of it, likes to hate Tim Tebow. That's part of the deal.
And now comes the reality: If Tim Tebow wins his game on his home field, he gets to continue playing, at least for another week. Michelle Bachmann, from Iowa, could not win her game on her home field. She couldn't come in second. Or third. She won't continue to play next week. She's going to clean out her locker and start planning for next year. Or maybe a call from some NFL team that needs a motivational speaker.