Draft Lance!

It started with Ronald Reagan in the 1960s. Since then, celeberties have been a cornerstone in American politics.

But recently, more attention has been given to candidates who were former sports heros and coaches. Steve Largent, Tom Osborne, J.C. Watts and now Lynn Swann are just a few of the candidates that the Republicans have recruited.

And what do all of these candidates have in common? They have all won (or in Swann's case, in the process of winning) their campaigns.

For the last few years now, I have always said that elections are more popularity contests instead of a debate on the issues which is, yes, sad. There is more of a likelihood that someone will vote for someone who caught a pigskin for a living instead of a civil rights lawyer who actually knows the laws. This is the next generation of campaigning, and the Democrats are getting their asses handed to them.

I was watching the Daily Show the other day and saw Lance Armstrong talking to John Stewart. Armstrong was a well spoken man with a stong leadership quality. That is what people look for in candidates today, is leadership. If you look at CNN, MSNBC or the dreaded FoxNews Network, the poll they look at most, besides approval ratings, is the poll dealing with leadership. Issue polls (and how the candidates handle issues) is almost an afterthought.

Still, back to Lance Armstrong. Here is a guy that could win as a Republican in Harlem or a Democrat in Provo. He is a person everyone loves. Even before his stories about his problems with cancer became public, Lance was considered a strong leader. That is what the Democrats need.

They have started in the right direction. Heath Schuler, former University of Tennessee quarterback, is running for Congress in North Carolina. He has a great shot of winning his election and taking a seat away from the Republicans.

But the Democrats need to start tapping the athlete pool. More people watch the NFL, MLB, NBA, NASCAR and other sporting events than they do election day. Doesn't this tell us something?

And, sure, many of these candidates don't know anything about politics. The Republicans have done a great job of 'get elected first, learn politics later' approach to their elections, and it is working.

If the Democrats want to move ahead in the election race with the Republicans, they need to start recruiting sports stars as candidates.

My final thought will put it in perspective...Dale Earnhardt Jr. is said to be a Democrat...could you see Dale Jr losing any statewide race in North Carolina? I think not!

It is high school class president all over again. The football captain will ALWAYS defeat the Chess Club president.