Walking to work I passed four apparently homeless gentlemen sitting on a ledge outside a Chinese restaurant. They were a motley-looking crew, almost like characters in a bad CBC show. I overheard their animated, but calculated, discussion about what sounded like a boxing match. They were talking about Clinton and Obama.

Boxing is one of the great narrative sports—soccer and baseball being the other two in my mind. My friend the Bironist could explain this more eloquently than I (peruse his Normal Mailer post).

Don King would be proud. The promotion machine that is presenting the greatest sporting event of the past few years is in full swing. This race has played out in everyone’s hearts and minds for months now, in a matchup that tops the Rumble in the Jungle. A New Yorker article a few months ago described how Obama’s team had changed the narrative of the race. This has been touched on again and again, throughout the media, and within his own political machine. Just listen to his speeches; read the newspapers, magazines, even Obama’s fundraising emails. It’s plain as day. This race is not about him or Clinton; it is about you and me—even if you’re not American.

Those homeless gentlemen I passed on the way to work were in the ring, fighting, as am I.

But what happens when this story ends? The issue that concerns me most is that since so many are so intertwined with Obama’s story, then if he loses, all of his supporters that fought with him in the ring will have all lost just as much or more. This is the danger of playing on people’s own personal narratives — especially their hope. If Clinton wins, how will she write those who would now be demoralized and beaten into her own story line?

I don’t think it would be as easy as getting people to turn on the television to watch another boxing match, but then again, that is Don King’s specialty.

Photo by markhillary

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Posted on Friday, March 7th, 2008 at 4:41 pm. Follow comments through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comment or trackback.