Before my recent hiatus, I read a report that TMZ said that Oscar de la Hoya is “seriously considering” running for President in 2020. I am not talking about running for President of his Homeowners’ Association; TMZ says he is considering running for President of the United States. I have not even tried to verify that report, but the fact that it was out there for me to fall upon leads me to step over a line I really try to adhere to in these rants. What follows has a far greater “political content” than I prefer to include here. Nonetheless…
Here is a portion of the report I read:
“I am actually very, very serious and I strongly feel that if a Kanye West can do it and announce and maybe tease the world that he would maybe one day wanna run for president, why not me?”
Oscar de la Hoya was a very successful boxer and has been successful in the business world in his post-boxing days. He is intelligent and articulate; he is photogenic. He may or may not have socio-political views that are constructive for the country; I would not know about any of them until or unless he actually runs for office and explicates them in open forum. Should that time arrive, I will pay attention to his positions on the issues of the day and counter-balance them with an initial aversion that I would have to his candidacy.
- I have learned from experience over the span of my lifetime that it takes more than goodwill or noble intentions to govern. Some very effective Presidents have been not-so-nice people; some very decent Presidents have been not-so-effective.
- I do not think it is beneficial for the country to fall into a “cult of personality” mode when selecting a President. I believe the candidate needs to bring to the party a record that shows he/she has been directly involved in successful governance.
- Running the country or a state or being a successful legislator is a different form of experience and requires different skills from running a business or creating a personal brand. The President must run the Executive Branch of the government; he/she cannot do that simply by being a recognizable figure.
I am NOT picking on Oscar de la Hoya here. I have not commented on other folks who fit the same description when they have mused about a Presidential campaign in 2020 simply because they had no connection with the sports world. I would apply the same skepticism to other folks who have hinted at Presidential runs to include:
- Michael Avanazzi
- Dwayne Johnson
- Kanye West
- Oprah Winfrey
Please note that I used the word “skepticism” in the paragraph above. I did not declare opposition to any or all of these folks; I would remain open-minded and hear any or all of them out and compare their positions with those of any opponents. By stating my skepticism, I am saying that any of their candidacies would have a hill to climb to get my support/vote.
Back to sports…
NBA teams are gathering to begin their version of Spring Training – – except it happens in the Fall. I have noted here more than a few times that the NBA regular season is hugely anti-climactic even though it drags on for 6 months and exposes us to 1230 regular season games. Brad Rock had this comment in the Deseret News this week. I suspect that his views on the extent of the NBA regular season are not all that different from mine:
“The NBA season is nearly here, but there’s nothing to see until the playoffs.
“Well, maybe a few things.
“Last season went like this: Kawhi Leonard dissed Gregg Popovich, Bobby Portis broke Nikola Mirotic’s face, Dwane Casey was fired before being named Coach of the Year, and Kobe Bryant won an Oscar.
“Next they’ll be telling us a player is dating a Kardashian.
“Never mind. That’s not news.”
The NFL Hall of Fame ballot has been formulated for 2019. Of the players appearing on the ballot for the first time, there are two who should definitely be in the Hall of Fame and would get my vote as first-ballot inductees – – if I had a vote. They are:
- Tony Gonzalez
- Ed Reed
There are two other first time players on the list for whom I would need convincing to give them support this year. I would not object to either of these players making the Hall of Fame one day, but somehow, I do not think they are of the same caliber as the two named above. These other two players are:
- Champ Bailey
- London Fletcher
Finally, let me close out today with another observation about the upcoming NBA season by Brad Rock of the Deseret News:
“The Jazz will play a Christmas Day game for the first time since 1997.
“Whew, time flies. Last time this happened the Jazz were on track to play Chicago in the NBA Finals and Dennis Rodman thought foreign relations meant dating Alicia Douvall.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………