We could all use a bit of comic relief while we wait for today's results. So here goes: The Obama and Hillary campaigns are now battling over who has the better interpretation of the career of ... basketball great Magic Johnson.
Hillary kicked things off with a radio ad on black radio in South Carolina in which Hillary supporter Johnson suggested that Obama is a hyped rookie, just as he himself was -- and that we need a seasoned player in the White House:
My rookie year, we won our first game on a last-second shot. I was so hyped. But the captain of my team said, “take it easy rookie, it’s a long season, it’s a long road to the championship.” He was right. Winning comes from years of hard work and preparation. Whether it’s winning championships or a president who can lead us back to greatness, I’ll always want the most prepared and experienced person leading my team.
The Obama campaign pushed back on the ad by pointing out that Magic himself was a really terrific rookie indeed who went on to accomplish magical things. The Obama camp actually supplied statistics and video clips to make this case (you can't cede an inch of ground anywhere in modern campaigns, clearly).
Now, let's parse this. Magic, on behalf of Clinton, is saying: "Yeah, a rookie can have a really attention grabbing first year -- but nonetheless, what we really need in a President is someone who's proven him or herself over the long term." Also, there seems to be a suggestion here that Magic sees Hillary as the equivalent of his captain at the time -- the leader of the team (or the country). In other words, Magic as Obama; Hillary as Magic's captain.
The Obama camp's reply is that this particular rookie in fact went on to greatness -- proving that a rookie needn't be dismissed as an overhyped flash in the pan. Rather, we should see a rookie's awesomeness not as something random or arbitrary, but as a harbinger of future greatness.
Kind of dovetails neatly with the campaign's larger argument.
http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2008/01/hillary_and_obama_battle_over_legacy_of_magic_johnson.php