Might Lance Armstrong join political race?

[kurth]

Might Lance Armstrong join political race?
While peddling cancer bonds vote, his political talent caught notice
11:42 PM CST on Friday, November 23, 2007
By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – Lance Armstrong, fresh from steering state cancer research bonds to passage, is now ready to press the presidential candidates on how they'll help in fighting the disease.

Lance Armstrong Political professionals, however, are more intrigued by what may lie beyond 2008 for the seven-time Tour de France champion.

Several said the 36-year-old cyclist and cancer survivor has impressive political talent. And, they say, he took noticeable steps this year to make his public appearance more professional and to grow more steeped in public policy. Few find it hard to imagine an Armstrong candidacy.

"He's got the political DNA without a doubt," said Cathy Bonner, an aide to former Democratic Gov. Ann Richards.

"He's an extremely fast learner," said Ms. Bonner, a board member at the 1997 launch of Mr. Armstrong's anti-cancer foundation who last year came up with the idea of a $3 billion bond issue for research after Ms. Richards died of cancer of the esophagus...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/112407dntexarmstrong.2bdc4ab.html

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$3 billion bond for cancer "research", and not a penny for treatment of uninsured cancer patients in Texas.

[Peregrine]

1. Unless he has found religion since his book was published

It will be difficult. I know everybody finds god when they run for office, but few have an autobiography that comes out saying that they doubt the existence of god and gives all of the credit for his recovery to his doctors.

[regnaD kciN]

2. Not to mention...

...certain issues in his personal life. Oh, I don't think too many people will care that, as soon as he became successful, he dumped his wife (who supported him throughout his illness) to move in with Sheryl Crow -- I mean, lots of politicians and celebrities are known for "trading up" once they become more desirable, wedding vows be damned. But what will sink him, IMHO, is that he then dropped Sheryl for one of the Olsen twins!!! :crazy:

[Berry Cool]

5. Well, he didn't drop her FOR one of the Olsen twins

in that their engagement appears to have ended a while before the Olsen thing happened...like, February of '06...so I seriously doubt he was weighing the benefits of an Olsen twin or Sheryl and picked the twin...

I'd be much more concerned about the fact that some years ago, when TV commercial actors in the SAG and AFTRA unions went on strike, he said publicly that he would honor their strike and not make commercials during that time...but then he went ahead and did it anyway. His excuse was that he was a cancer survivor with a family to feed. Of course, there were probably cancer survivors with families to feed on the picket lines, too.

[seemunkee]

14. He was pretty successful before the breakup

Living in Europe half the time put a major strain on their relationship

[taterguy]

4. Actually he gave a lot of credit for his recovery to his nurses

Which made me have a lot more respect for him than I did before I read his book

[cgrindley]

3. I don't believe he's clean

he's been accused too many times to trust.

[Squatch]

6. Yeah...assert something over and over until it becomes true.

:thumbsup:

Le'Equipe's tactics are working.

[cgrindley]

7. Go ahead, just ignore it

oh dear.

[Squatch]

8. Ignore what?

Baseless claims made by a foreign newspaper that LA cheated in the TdF?

OK...I can ignore those.

[cgrindley]

9. Ha! It comes out!

a "foreign" newspaper, eh? well, it's not like an American would cheat in sports, right? go ahead, wave that flag.

[Squatch]

10. You're kidding, right?

Were the dubious results of a secret blood test leaked to a domestic US paper before Le'Equipe?

[Toots]

11. Why did you say foreign newspaper instead of just newspaper?

Does that make it less dependable in your estimation? I think it just illistrates your bias.. Do you think about Iraqi deaths and injuries as well as American or just American? Maybe because they are "foreign" they just don't count as much....:shrug:

[Squatch]

12. Because it's a foreign newspaper, per chance?

The "case" against LA was built when a foreign-run drug lab LEAKED the results of a blood test to a foreign-run newspaper to discredit an American rider.

"Does that make it less dependable in your estimation?"

In this instance, absolutely.

[cgrindley]

24. LEAKED doesn't mean LIED, it means released without permission (nt)

[Squatch]

26. Thanks for the lexicology lesson, professor.

Unfortunately, your mastery of lying does not change my answer that the foreign newspaper in question is completely undependable.

[seemunkee]

13. Like I would EVER trust that French lab or WADA

Their procedures are lax and the results are always suspicious.

[cgrindley]

25. Longest river in Africa, anyone? (nt)

[seemunkee]

27. Do you follow the sport?

If so you would know that the lab is riddled with problems and that the other testing labs don't believe their results.
Dick Pound and WADA ruin athletes lives without regard to facts or following their own rules.

[cgrindley]

28. Denial... Denial... Denial...

keep going, it's just getting funnier by the minute.

[seemunkee]

29. While you have added so much to the conversation

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Something tells me he is a republican

Or is my hunch wrong?

[Squatch]

16. Does it matter?

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. It would to me

I don't vote for or support republicans.

[Squatch]

18. Even if voting for them would result in a lot of positive results for

cancer research, as LA has demonstrated?

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. I don't vote for republicans

But if I did, I wouldn't advocate that here on DEMOCRATIC Underground.

[Squatch]

20. Ever?

So, it's all about labels, then?

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. I live in Kansas

Would you like a brief summary of how Republicans have tried to ruin this state? Especially our schools?

A few moderate Republicans here have switched to the Democratic party. They are embarrassed by the extreme right wing here and claim it has taken over the state GOP.

I pay taxes in Missouri. I could go on for hours about how Republicans have corrupted that state.

So no, I don't vote for Republicans. I have in the past but not now. It isn't about labels. It's about legislation:

stripping funding from public schools

kicking 100,000 low income people off of Medicaid

making English the official state language

mandating racial profiling by cops making traffic stops

destroying worker comp protection

refusing to allow kids entry to college

repeatedly violating the Sunshine Law - by the MO governor's office

calling registered Dems and telling them to vote on Wed instead of Tues



I could go on. Hopefully you get the idea. Until the republicans stop promoting ridiculous legislation, I won't vote for them.

[Ezlivin]

21. He'll need a lot of a special performance enhancing drug to be successful

And in politics that drug is money, lots of it.

[donsu]

23. I hope not

something about him I don't trust