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Candidates just short of the cycle

By Francis X. Bova III

When baseball met politics last night it wasn’t because of the Mitchell Report. It was in the spin room where analogies from America’s pastime fit, just right, like an old baseball glove.
The sports metaphors, not uncommon after debates, may have started hours earlier when debate moderator Tim Russert told the crowd, “You are major players in this primary.” And it could be argued the Cleveland Browns helmet Brian Williams brought out, a minute prior, cemented all the sports terminology to come.
They came as furiously as a Roger Clemens fastball. Many were ignored, some laughed at, but in the end it may have helped decide who the real winner of the debate was. So, who won the rubber game: Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?
Two local politicians made their judgment call.
“She had to make her case, she obviously didn’t hit the home run,” said Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan, who also said she didn’t deliver a knockout. “She hit a double.”
“I thought it was a great baseball game and she hit a home run,” said 11th District Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones.
Clinton’s spokesperson Doug Hattaway tackled “the who won the debate” questions like a true teammate.
“The obvious one is she hit it out of the park, (but) that is unoriginal,” he said. “Our view is that when you have a substantive discussion about issues that matter involving the people of Ohio. She wins.” He also added Clinton is a fighter, a doer, and a champion.
Meanwhile, CSU President Michael Schwartz’s outcome came from left field.
“The major winners here were my students first and the American people in general,” said Dr. Schwartz. “Those were the real winners.”
But, perhaps, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown made the best game-winning observation.
“Some how, they both hit grand slammers in the same pitch,” he said. “First time in baseball history, right? Same inning, opposite sides of the plate.”

Reach this Stater reporter at f.bova@csuohio.edu