Ditka Could Have Altered History: Could Mike Ditka have derailed Barack Obama's ascendancy?

[HopeFor2006]

<http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Could-Mike-Ditka-have-derailed-Barack-Obama-s-as?urn=nfl,115837>

Barack Obama's easy win in the 2004 Illinois Senate race catapulted him to national fame and set him on his current path toward the White House. It was a convincing victory that is now but a footnote in the career of the Democratic presidential nominee. But that victory wasn't as assured as it appears in retrospect. For a few days in the summer of '04 there was the very real possibility that the Republican opponent in Obama's first major election battle race would be Chicago Bears coaching legend Mike Ditka.

Jack Ryan had won the Republican primary that year, but dropped out of the race after the release of embarrassing papers from his high-profile divorce with actress Jeri Ryan. The vacancy left GOP leaders in the state scrambling to find a replacement. With fears that the election was all but lost, Republicans wanted a major name to turn the tide. Ditka was that name.

[MattP]

1. Wishful thinking on some writers part

That was after the convention speech and there was no way anyone would have beat Obama and Dikta didn't even want to be vetted.

[TTUBatfan2008]

2. Yeah, Obama had already become a superstar at that point...

and Ditka is an incompetent fool. Even if he managed to get elected, he would find himself getting the boot 6 years later.

[MattP]

3. On top of that Dikta is mixed up with gambling in the past and consults gambling sites today

[krkaufman]

14. Bob Greene, of CNN's politicalticker. Not sure if it's wishful... or just delusional or ignorant.

I'm not sure Greene has ever fully recovered from his sexual scandal.

[featherman]

4. Ditka is as dumb as a bag of rocks with a loose mouth and quick temper

and a Republican... in Illinois ...Um... no sale for Illinois voters. A Ditka campaign would have been an embarrassing mess

[reggie the dog]

15. by 2004 Illinois was SOLIDLY on the left

the Green Party got 10% for Governor, plus the Democrats got about 60 or 65% I think. The Republicans got their ass handed to them in 2004 in Illinois.

[XOKCowboy]

5. Now that would have put Obama in the spotlight.

Ditka is so dirty and so ignorant of the issues that Obama would have beat him hands down.

[4lbs]

6. The bigger issue is if Jack Ryan hadn't been stupid enough to want to take his actress wife to

a kinky sex club and ended up divorced, he could realistically have beaten Obama.

Ryan was even with Obama until the kinky sex information came out during the 2004 Senate campaign. Then, his support began drying up very quickly. He dropped out and the GOP replaced him with Alan Keyes with just weeks left. Keyes was demolished by Obama, 70% to 27%.

[liberalpragmatist]

10. No he wasn't

Before the sex scandal broke, Obama lead Ryan by 20 points in the polls.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

7. Ditka 1,297,678,987,678,098,375,518 votes; Obama 0

seriously - no.
The guy's dumb as dirt and would have been exposed as such in the debates.

[dontforgetpoland]

8. Ditka would have blown the entire state budget on Ricky Williams.

One of the dumbest football moves in NFL draft history.

[democracy1st]

11. That move actually blew away the Lions drafting 3 WR's in a row without a QB to get them the ball

and thats saying something it's like :wtf:

[blue-kite]

9. I think only if he'd played him as outside linebacker in the 1994 winning team. n/t

[KharmaTrain]

12. Ditka Knew He'd Lose

There was an article in the local paper after he chose not to run and he was pretty candid why he said no. First, the party wanted him to self finance the campaign...they figgered he could sweet talk all his buddies into putting up the money, he said he wouldn't. He also makes a nice chunk of change doing "motivational speaking"...conventions and card signings. He didn't want to trade in his good life for politics.

I don't think Ditka could have beaten Obama...his popularity outside of Chicago was poor and the statewide party had begun to disintegrate. It was a big reason the incumbent, Peter Fitzgerald, a close Ditka friend, bailed as well. In the end, they couldn't find a single statewide repugnican to go against Obama...and airlifted Alan Keyes to try to trip him up. What a joke that was.

[AllentownJake]

13. Lynn Swann didn't carry Pittsburgh in 2006 against Rendell

Just saying.

Maybe if they ran Terry Bradshaw they might have carried Pittsburgh.

[jacksonian]

16. Ha! nobody in Chicago wants Ditka to run the Bears

much less be Senator.

[GeorgeGist]

17. to those who recommended this ...

:wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf::wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: