Why politics is like NASCAR...

I just finished watching Jimmie Johnson win his third Sprint Cup Championship in a row. He joins Cale Yarborough as the only driver in history to win three cup championships in a row. Regardless of his accomplishment, if you were to ask one out of two NASCAR fans who the greatest driver is, they would respond Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the son of the NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt, Sr. The father won seven cup championships matched only by "The King", Richard Petty. The son has won zero cup championships. His popularity has more to do with his being in a sport in which his father was very successful and adored by millions than with his personal success.

This reminds me a great deal of our current dominant political parties.

The Democratic Party:
The Party of John F. Kennedy
The Party of Franklin Roosevelt

The Republican Party:
The Party of Abraham Lincoln
The Party of Ronald Reagan

Like Dale Earnhardt, Jr., our political parties are resting on their past. The only difference is that for Junior, it just happened. With our political parties, they have specifically tried to link themselves to their past. That's even more disgusting.

It may be that 100 years from now, the Democrats will be the party of Barack Obama. Perhaps history will judge him the greatest president of the 21st century. In a way, I hope not. It's only 2008. I'd hate to think it's all down hill from here. Regardless of how history judges Obama, he's not Kennedy and he's not the second Roosevelt.

Congratulations, Jimmie Johnson on your third consecutive championship! Perhaps you'd have more fans if you were a less successful driver with a more famous dad.

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