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OPINION
July 28 - Aug. 3, 2016 • Page 7 A
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Olympics highlight more than sports
Football season is just OK.
I don’t have much interest in
basketball, and I only occasionally
get interested in baseball. Soccer
and hockey mean nothing to me.
Obviously I’m not a major sports
fan.
However, every couple of
years I develop a rabid interest in
athletics—swimming, track and
field, gymnastics and more. Yes, I
become obsessed with the Olympic
Games and the run-up to qualifying
for the Olympic team.
Watching all the Olympic
hopefuls putting their dreams on the
line is both riveting and inspiring.
It reminds me of the untapped
potential that all of us possess, but
so few of us fully cultivate.
What really excites me every
Olympic season are the athletes
Gale Horton Gay
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and their back stories—from
first-timers to veterans, those in
prime physical shape and those
recovering from injuries, from
athletes with messy private lives
to those who have stayed away
from scandal as well as those who
almost made the team or to the
Olympic podium the last time and
are seeking redemption this time
around.
On a recent weekend, one
of the commentators during the
Olympic trials remarked that the
great majority of athletes who
make the U.S. Olympic team won’t
medal and making the team and
participating in the opening and
closing ceremonies will be the high
points of their experience.
To me it all serves as a
reminder of what so many of
us forget and overlook, that we
possess the ability to pursue
our dreams, make exceptional
achievements if we’re willing to put
in the hard work, give 110 percent
and keep getting up when life
knocks us down.
The other aspect that I love is
the patriotic spirit imbued in the
games. Obviously the French are
rooting for the team from France,
Nigerians are in full support of
their country men and women,
likewise for the Canadians, Italians,
Jamaicans and so on. And for
us Americans, who are currently
experiencing such a divisive
society, it’s an opportunity to
unite as one, forgetting about our
differences and cheering for our
fellow Americans—despite race,
religion, political beliefs, occupation
and all the other things that we let
divide us.
I hope that when the Olympic
Games start on Aug. 5 and
conclude on Aug. 31, it will gently
remind us of how much we have in
common with one another.
The competition and
camaraderie of the Olympic Games
always bring me tremendous joy
and a renewed sense of belief in
humanity. And I hope it does the
same for everyone else.
gale@dekalbchamp.com
On edge in the City of Brotherly Love
Though the Republican
Convention and Donald Trump’s
coronation as party nominee for
the White House seemed like an
extended episode of Celebrity
Apprentice, there will be almost
as many challenges with party
re-unification for Democrats in the
City of Brotherly Love. The heat
of protests and clashes between
pro and con Trump factions within
the fractured GOP will be mirrored
by the ire of Bernie Sanders
supporters and other activists in
Philadelphia.
For former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, a lifelong dream is
about to be realized-to be the first
female U.S. presidential nominee
of either of our two national
parties. That said, there may be
still more hints of scandal in the air
than the pleasant aroma of Philly
cheese steaks on the grill.
As Sanders has already
endorsed Clinton, along with an
enthusiastic endorsement by
incumbent President Barack
Obama, it would appear that
Clinton should have the easier
week, and leave this convention
the front runner. Maybe.
The reality though remains
that more than half of American
voters, including Democratic
voters sampled alone, believe
that Clinton is not trustworthy.
An indictment never occurred
from the long-lingering Email
server and Benghazi reviews and
investigations; but the verdict may
be different in the court of public
opinion. And, as much as Clinton
‘One Man's
Opinion’
Bill Crane
bill.csicrane@gmail.com
can tout her record as first lady,
Senator and Secretary of state,
that also carries a lot of Clinton-
era baggage and concerns about
putting an essentially unrestrained
former President Bill Clinton back
inside the White House.
Secretary Clinton has a huge
lead among African-American
and women voters over 50. She
is pulling ahead steadily with
Hispanic and Jewish voters, and
leading the field in fundraising both
her own campaign and related
Super Pacs. But, among younger
voters, millenials and all women
under 40, as with White women,
she is still lagging considerably.
The “Feel the Bern” crowd may
come home, but disaffected
White voters, Sanders supporters
and non-college educated labor
voters are hearing the siren call
of Donald Trump as well as the
Libertarian Party nominee, former
New Mexico Governor Gary
Johnson.
Clinton began her candidacy,
much as her husband previously
did, running as a centrist, with
language aimed at an ailing
middle class. But just as her
campaign logo has changed
colors and directions, more than a
few times, Clinton found Sanders
pulling her consistently to the left
to keep up in caucus and primary
contests. Clinton is now espousing
free college and has substantially
shortened her timeline and shored
up support for a national $15-an-
hour minimum wage. And though
not touting an open borders
immigration policy, she has
again moved much closer to the
left side of her party regarding
a clear path to citizenship, as
well as forgiveness and forms
of amnesty for the 11 million-15
million immigrants living here
in the United States illegally, or
without the benefit of appropriate
documentation.
Clinton is not a comfortable
campaigner. On the stump and
with prepared text, her remarks
often come across as overly
scripted, monotone and nearly
screaming. The speeches are
rarely inspiring and of late, other
than a steady drumbeat on
Trump’s temperament and lack
of readiness for the job—remain
rather scant on program details.
That said, “Team Blue” has the
better chance to hold the White
House, as well as recapture the
Senate.
Leaving the potential spoiler
potential of the Libertarian ticket
for another column, Clinton
has to use her week and party
convention to reassure her
nonsupporters that she has the
knowledge, experience and
ability to lead. That her candidacy
is about more than being the
first woman to hold the office
of President, and that she can
be trusted to serve the people’s
interests ahead of her own—not
an easy task.
One is reminded though of the
hotly contested and attention-
grabbing contest for Louisiana
governor in 1991, between
longtime White supremacist
David Duke and former scandal-
plagued Louisiana Governor
Edwin Edwards. The memorable
bumper sticker for the contest
and the Edwards’ campaign
compared the unfavorables and
negatives of each candidate
with the request, “Vote for the
Crook...It’s Important.” The
crook won by a healthy margin,
yet Duke was able to claim the
pyrrhic victory of winning his
chosen constituency of White
Louisiana voters by 55 percent
according to exit polls. There
are some not dissimilar issues
and circumstances at play in this
presidential contest, though I can’t
quite picture Hillary Clinton, with
a wink and a smile, a-la Edwards,
reminding voters to “vote for the
crook.”
Bill Crane also serves as a
political analyst and commenta
tor for Channel 2’s Action News,
WSB-AM News/Talk 750 and now
95.5 FM, as well as a columnist for
The Champion, Champion Free
Press and Georgia Trend. Crane
is a DeKalb native and business
owner, living in Scottdale. You can
reach him or comment on a col
umn at bill.csicrane@gmail.com.
