In 1974, an aging Muhammad Ali was facing the much stronger George Foreman in a bout that came to be known as "The Rumble in the Jungle." Entering the ring Foreman, while not particularly popular was, by all accounts, the big odds on favorite not only to defeat Ali but to knock him out early and humiliatingly.
Recognizing that he would be unable to defeat Foreman by going toe-to-toe with
this behemoth, Ali employed a strategy that came to be known as the "rope-a-dope."
The "rope-a-dope" has the inferior boxer leaning himself up against
the ropes in the ring, allowing himself to be pummeled by his opponent, the
intention being, that by covering up and weathering the attacks, the superior
fighter will eventually punch himself out, giving the less powerful fighter
the chance to then land a knock-out blow.
If this strategy in the ring is called the "rope-a-dope," in the
Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama bout, Obama -- the underdog to the behemoth of
the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton -- could be said to be employing the "Hope-a-dope."
For years, Hillary Clinton was the one to beat, the "inevitable"
nominee of the Democratic Party. Obama knew he simply could not win the nomination
if he attempted to go toe-to-toe with her, exchanging policy ideas, points and
counterpoints.
His chances, like Muhammad Ali's, first rested on getting in some early jabs
(winning the Iowa caucus), weathering the onslaught of critics, then, wearing
Hillary down (winning South Carolina primary, Super Tuesday, the Potomac primaries).
Finally, he'd come in in the late rounds, with a devastating blow (winning Texas),
where the weary and vulnerable Clinton wouldn't be able to "answer the
bell".
Obama's strategy would be to hide behind meaningless bromides like "hope"
knowing that, by doing so, he risked nothing that might expose him to be intellectually
and politically inferior to Clinton, opening himself for an early knock-out
blow.
Just as Foreman began to desperately flail for that one big haymaker, so too,
did Hillary Clinton: Having BET owner Robert L. Johnson skillfully remind voters
of Obama's past cocaine use; Questioning Obama's relationship with indicted
gangster Tony Rezko; Charges of plagiarism, concerning Obama's "words mean
something" remarks; Claims that Obama wasn't going to participate in more
debates, etc.
These were the heavy punches thrown by a prizefighter, but they were easily
absorbed, simply continuing to employ the "hope-a-dope" strategy of
vacuous cliches that left Senator Clinton no target to hit.
Ultimately, Foreman fell to the lesser boxer on that day in Zaire more than
three decades ago just as Hillary is falling to Obama as we get ready for the
last "rounds" of the battle in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania..
It remains to be seen if Obama can ride his "hope-a-dope" strategy
to the nomination, or even to the presidency. But for now, he sure is floatin'
like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.
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Bobby Kennedy was an idol of mine as a 7 year-old, in 1968. Obviously,
tragedy befell him, assassinated on June 5, 1968. It was a major
personal blow to me. I remember being very shaken by it. In 1988, 20
years after his death, I went to The Ambassador Hotel in L.A. (where
the assassination took place) and there was a billboard honoring
Senator Kennedy. A few years ago, I thought, for the fun of it, I'd
start a collection campaign pins from his run for the presidency. I
thought that it would be fun -- and doable -- to try and get every pin
from that campaign, because he was a candidate for a relatively brief
period of time: late March, 1968, through early June. The above
photo is of the entire collection. There are only 2 or 3 pins I know
I'm missing.
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That's Micky Dolenz (of The Monkees) on the left, legendary Rock photographer Henry Diltz, center, and me on right. Fun party.]]>
