Friday, September 19, 2003

Conservatively Speaking

Mitch Berg of late has been involved in a discussion over which political party has the momentum at this point in the election cycle. Mitch has made some persuasive points, although even he admits the evidence is inconclusive that either party has captured the imagination of the undecided populace in the middle who will decide the victor in ‘04. Last night while surfing the cable channels, I picked up a few more data points to show that just maybe big mo' is swinging the right way.

After Fraters Libertas laid waste to the field at Keegan’s new Thursday night trivia, I came home, settled in for some late night TV, and ran across a couple of unlikely spokesmen for the conservative cause. First, Robert Smith, the former Minnesota Vikings running back. He was on Fox Sports Best Damn Sports Show. Amid his typically articulate and well considered comments, Smith threw out a couple of observations that indicate where his political sympathies may reside.

While commenting on Randy Moss, he said that he thought Moss could become a real leader on the Vikings team. Regarding Moss’s past indiscretions, Smith said that was due to the typical immaturity of youth. He then said something to the effect of “we’re all immature when we’re that age and do things we regret. Look at me, I voted for Clinton twice.”

Later, Smith was asked to comment on Maurice Claret, the troubled running back at Smith’s old school Ohio State (which, as Smith corrected one of the hosts, is not Smith’s alma mater, since he has yet to graduate). He again brought up the issue of immaturity saying (and I’m paraphrasing here) “you have to understand, this is a guy who has Jim Brown advising him on his personal life.” When challenged by one of the hosts at this perceived heresy of the jockocracy (and activist liberals), Smith said “I’m just saying when you have Jim Brown advising you, you’re probably not making the best decisions.”

Over on NBC, Jay Leno had Dana Carvey on. He was hilarious, making me wonder why this guy’s career has been dead since leaving SNL, what 10 years ago? At the very least, Carvey needs a weekly TV venue to showcase his George W. Bush impression. It’s dead on accurate, and Carvey knows how and when to exaggerate it for satirical affect, something Will Farrel never figured out.

(And if not TV, how about a weekly radio spot? Hugh Hewitt, Generalissimo - get on this, it's a million dollar idea. I'd have to think his appearances would go at least as well an an interview with Michael Caine.)

When asked about politics, between the jokes, all of Carvey’s comments were conservative in nature. He strongly supports Schwarzenegger in the California recall, saying something about how it’s time to have someone fresh, with new ideas, in office, instead of another Orville Redenbacher look alike. Then Carvey went off on Gray Davis, even referring to him as “Gay” Davis two times. Simple name calling like that was uncharacteristic for Carvey, but strangely it did draw big laughs from the audience both times. Carvey went on to say a few other generally supportive things about George W. and his efforts to battle terrorism.

Just a few years ago it would have seemed unthinkable for a prominent minority athlete and a member of the Hollywood entertainment establishment to come out and support (even obliquely) conservative positions on national television. But in a one hour period on a Thursday night, I saw both. Which leads me to the conclusion, if Robert Smith and Dana Carvey be for us, who could be against us?

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