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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (53468)	7/8/2004 7:07:11 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793757

THE COACHINATOR: Could Mike Ditka be the Arnold Schwarzenegger of Illinois? BIVER: If not Ryan or Rauschenberger . . . Thursday, July 08, 2004 By John F. Biver (admin@illinoisleader.com) .......another name has surfaced, and I, for one, like it: Mike Ditka. You don’t rise to the level that Ditka did without heart. You don’t succeed in the arena that Ditka did without intellect. And you don’t remain a favorite of so many Chicago sports fans without the ability to connect with people. Mike Ditka understands contact sports, and politics is very much a contact sport. As both a player and a coach, Ditka knows what it means to hit, be hit, and teach others how to do both. He knows how to win. He’s not only played on winning teams, he’s coached them. He’s seen that chemistry from the playing ranks and has helped build a team from the coaching ranks. Having played football and worked on campaigns, I can attest to the fact that there are clear parallels. He knows how to communicate. You don’t get hired to be head coach by two professional sports franchises and by a national TV network as a commentator unless you can put sentences together that can be understood. Ditka has long had something to say that people have wanted to hear. He understands what it is to work in an arena where big egos dominate the landscape. Pro football and politics easily have that in common. As a result, professional coaches are as much teachers as they are diplomats. He understands the media. My favorite Mike Ditka memory is “da coach” succinctly explaining to a member of the press his opinion on that reporter’s intellectual capacity: "See that, buddy? That's your I.Q. -- zero!" It’s obvious that Mike Ditka has terrific name I.D. Barack Obama is now a media-created political celebrity, and the best way to beat him is to run another well-liked celebrity. A Ditka-Obama contest would be a level playing field, where celebrity status has been neutralized. Instead of personal lives, big issues could be debated. The result might be that voters would come away knowing more about the competing visions of the two major political parties. The critical issues of the day deserve a hearing. The war on terror. Domestic entitlement program reform. Tax reform. Federal spending reform. Education reform. The list goes on and on. Our country has a great tradition of private citizens stepping up to serve for a short time in elective office. Illinois Republicans could benefit from a no nonsense candidate - a strong, intelligent and accomplished individual stepping forward. The fact that Ditka has a colorful history and personality is just an extra benefit. The fact that Ditka wouldn’t be looking to make a career move but rather to make a difference might be just the ticket to winning this November. © 2004 IllinoisLeader.com -- all rights reserved _________ illinoisleader.com