Championship Game, Fourth Quarter, Minutes Left

Politics is a game played for the highest office in this country and perhaps in the world by the best teams in the world. It has a pre-season, a regular season and the play-offs. (In 2000 there was even overtime). Each team has its superstar who needs a strong supporting cast to win. At the end one champion is crowned. There will be jubilation for the winner. The loser will be inconsolably despondent despite defeating all other comers to get to the championship game. Second place is the worst feeling of all.

In sports, the fans choose the game they love to follow, but they have no ultimate say in the final score. In politics, the people are the score. The polls are the scoreboard, but unlike at the arena, the score is only an estimate. Who is winning and by how much is always a bit in question, which is why so many love this game and so few play it well.

In this case, however, McCain’s team has been playing the last few minutes of this political season’s Championship game like a basketball team down late in a three possession game. Lengthen the game with fouls. Stop the clock and hope some long, low percentage, high impact shots can be hit. Play a strong negative game. It is your only chance.

Obama is playing with a comfortable lead. Stall. Maintain possession. No fouls. No big mistakes. Nothing fancy. No long shots. Get the ball in the hands of your money player. Hit the easy foul shots or work for a lay-up. Make sure your opponent is one and out on its offensive possessions. Use your strengths to your advantage to wind out the final seconds. Do not, under any circumstances, lose your cool under the pressure.

Sure the lead will get tighter, but if you just take care of the basics there simply are not enough possessions left in the game for it to fall away entirely. A few missed shots or errant passes and the lead grows and turns into a blow-out. As a hoopster, Obama knows how this game goes and he is playing it with grace and skill.

Will Obama continue to calmly hit his free throws in the waning seconds and hold off the desperate McCain as he hacks his way to close the lead? You are the score. Every point counts. Who has won your point?