#1 You need a forum for the event. Just as in the olden days when the Romans built the Colosseum for sporting events, we have our modern buildings such as the Rose Garden, Yankee Stadium, the high school gym, etc... The politicians have also built themselves structures for the great game. In the past there was the Roman Senate House, but we have made bigger and better places for the event. We have the House of Representatives, the White house, the UN and in the minor leagues we have state capitols and town halls. All great places great for the epic battles of "life and death" to take place.
#2 You need big sponsors. Who else would pay for t-shirts, parties, travel, TV spots. For this we have big names like Nike, Speedo, and so on. All of whom pay millions to have their
name associated to big name individuals. For example Micheal Phelps just received 1 million dollars for breaking world records in the Olympics. In the political arena we have Pfizer, Big Oil, GMC, etc. Barack Obama has raised $401,311,983 as of last month for his run at the gold. Which far out paces Mr. Phelps' estimated $100,000,000 earning potential.#3 You need fans/groupies. Let's face it what would we do without the fans? We need the tailgaters, and people to paint their faces and bellies. Who else would get piss-drunk and try to run onto the field during the middle of the game? They fly flags of their team at their homes and on their cars on game day. But even greater than the fans are the groupies. Those who travel so they don't miss a game. Sleeping on curbsides to get the best tickets, eating condiments as meals to keep up their strength and save their money so they can make it to the next event. Cheering for the same team for years even if every player has been traded and the team has moved to a new city. So it is in politics. We have the casual observer; those who click on interesting links on the Yahoo home page or keep up with the moves of their favorite candidate or politician. This is one-upped by the volunteer who gives up their precious time to "fight for the cause". They hold signs of support at curbsides: "Honk for peace," even in falling rain or freezing snow. They go to pep rallies. They always vote "Mark all Republican or Democrat" when they vote. And they always have their favorite candidate on a bumper sticker. Above the volunteers are the staffers. These are the cogs of the great players. They live on donuts and coffee. They don't sleep for days, and if they do sleep it is on their desk so they have their spiral notebook imprinted on their face.
#4 You need TV/Internet coverage. There is Monday night football, ESPN, pop-ups, the late shows. In politics it's CSPAN, you tube, Saturday Night Live. Along with the coverage of the paparazzi.
#5 You need scandals. Let me just list a few: 6 d/q from the Olympics dozens before by the home countries, steroids in baseball, Black Sox Scandal. As in politics: Sen. Ted Stevens- R- Alaska, indicted on bribery charges, Water
gate, Deep throat, Bill Clinton and Monica do I need to say more?#6 Lastly, You need players. The bigger the name the better. Derrick Jeder, Babe Ruth, Serge Bubkais are all household names. Inn politics we have George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Colin Powell. There are those who love them and those who love to hate them.
They say that baseball is the national pastime in the US, but I would dare to say that the sport of politics is by far more interesting.
Don't forget to vote on November 4th 2008.
