If the MSM insists on ridiculing Barack Obama's bowling disaster at the Altoona Massacre, they have to at least give him credit for his basketball skills, still on great display at age 46. From an event last night in basketball-crazy Indiana:
Obama's campaign had arranged for him to take part in a three-on-three game at an elementary school here with the two winners of a contest to see who could register the most Indiana voters, one from high school and one from college. The stakes were high: a dozen cameras and the national press corps watching Obama's every dribble.
But there would be no lampooning this time. Obama, who played on his high school team in Hawaii and still plays pick-up games whenever possible, could hardly have asked for a better line: 4 for 6 shooting, including a three-pointer to seal his team's 15-5 win. Added in the mix was some hustling defense, including two nifty steals. All in all, the 46-year-old looked very much at home slashing through the lane and setting picks among some very good players less than half his age. Every so often, he let loose a "whoo!" to celebrate a score or spook the opposition.
Obama's most important shot may have been one that didn't show up on the scoreboard: the players tried three-pointers to pick up teams, and by draining his second one, Obama got to play on the same team as Alison Bales, who was the only woman in the group, and also the tallest and the best: a 6'7'' Duke grad who now plays for the Indiana Fever of the WNBA. (The other two players were the friends of the high school contest winner, who have been recruited to Division I college teams.)
Being on Bales' team, and thus spared her shot-blocking threat, allowed Obama to do what he does best — drive to the hoop for layups, and zip no-look passes to Bales, who scored most of their team's points. Three of Obama's field goals came under the hoop — a reverse lay-in, a layup, and a put-back of a missed layup. He had tried only one jumper before he nailed the open three to end the game.
Let's hope the Illinois Senator has this kind of game the rest of the political season.
