Charles Barkley, Barack Obama, Indiana University Basketball, and the Ohio Primary.

I heard a news story this evening on the local news AND then replayed during the NBA All-Star festivities on TNT that focused on a unique political endorsement. Charles Barkley, former NBA great and frequent sociopolitical commentator, endorsed Senator Obama for president this weekend. Barkley, an admitted Republican and traditional Alabama gubanatorial wannabe, leaped to Obama's side of the aisle by calling him the best candidate for the job. Not only does this confuse many people (atleast me!) because of Barkley's consistent Republican roots, but also because he played NBA basketball in Arizona--home of Senator John McCain--for at least 8-10 years with additional stops in Philadelphia and Houston. Aside from merely refraining from endorsing any candidate at this point, Charles could have at least stopped at this point in the story...

I'm afraid that's not the case. Before we proceed with this analysis, let me first remind you that this is the same Charles Barkley that famously told the media years ago that he didn't want children to look up to him as a role model in his profession. I know for a fact that comments like that drove his Sports Illustrated for Kids trading card values down for years afterwards (actually I can't prove that statement, but it felt right.)

Here's the kicker, folks: Barkley continued to comment on the political atmosphere of the United States by referring to those that consider themselves "conservatives" to be in all actuality "fake Christians." Now, I have not had a chance to read the transcripts online, but the news is only covering those two tidbits of the situation---Charles endorses Obama, and Charles openly criticized conservatives for being "fake Christians." Let's just say that this small news story is not going away anytime soon. Follow-up note: Good luck securing the GOP nomination for the Alabama governorship in 2014, Charles... you just might need some of those conservative voters to cast a ballot in your party's primary. OUCH.

More on Obama:
Last week I had a conversation with a close friend about Barack Obama and the upcoming Ohio primary on March 4th. I have already mailed in my application for an absentee ballot and should be receiving my forms in the mail in the next few days. Until today, I was almost positive that I was going to stick with my decision to vote for Senator John Edwards in a defiant move to protest my lack of confidence and trust in the remaining two DNC candidates in the race. I still have some trust issues with Obama that relate to his policy formation and opinions (chiefly regarding health care and education), and have written Senator Clinton off completely at this point...BUT I spent some time reading some news articles about Obama's feelings regarding merit pay for teachers. In the earlier debates, Obama's opinions regarding merit pay were described as the traditional pay scale evaluation based primarily on proficiency scores. I have a problem with that system of assessment because it has the potential to drive away quality teachers from historically under-achieving or considerably poor school districts. That cycle, paired with already existing funding issues, could be the end of any level of remaining hope in those districts. However, based upon comments that Obama made to the NEA in July 2007 and other policy descriptions that I have been able to find, it seems as though the senator wants to work with professional teachers' unions and state school boards to design a system of merit pay that encourages teachers to excel in the classroom without any or all pay increments based on just proficiency testing. While I am not completely satisfied with this answer, I am happy that he understands that this is a complicated process and not just a flashy soundbyte for a debate response. I am still hesitant to throw my support to Senator Obama at this point, but I can tell you that I am leaning more in his direction at this point. I still have questions about his policy formation, and am worried that some of his advisors may not be 100% "Working-Family Friendly," but I do know that I am more confident in him at this point than Senator Clinton.
I guess I'll have to let you know how the ballot thing works out this upcoming week!

Indiana Hoosiers Basketball:
The Crimson and Cream knocked off #9 Michigan State tonight at Assembly Hall by a 20 point margin with looming NCAA investigations into Head Coach Calvin Sampson's recruiting process and overall credibility with the Infractions Committee, AND a first-half knee injury to PF D.J. White. This win allows IU to gain another quality win after a losing streak (3 out of last 6 games) and stay within 1 and a half games of Big 10 conference leader, Purdue, who comes to Bloomington on Tuesday for a show-down. Oh, and if Sampson is fired look for former BGSU head coach Dan Dakich to act as interim head coach for the Hoosiers. Neat-o mosquito.