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    Why Politicians like Obama and Palin Are Crazy About Jeremy Lin

    By Professor John A. Tures, LaGrange College | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Mon, Feb 20, 2012
    This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.
    Do you have a story to tell? Become a Yahoo! contributor

    COMMENTARY | It's clear New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin is the Tim Tebow of the NBA, an underrated talent who defied the critics to take a sport by storm. But when "Lin-sanity" spills over into the political arena, you know something is up. The former Harvard basketball player is the prize in an ongoing battle between Democrats and Republicans over the Asian-American vote.

    President Barack Obama weighed in, praising the point guard, saying his story transcends sports. Not to be outdone, former vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, a former basketball player, signed on to the Lin phenomenon by wearing a Lin T-shirt.

    Why would a rookie only a few games into the NBA season command the attention of key politicians? It's about winning the Asian-American vote. Republicans used to own this. With figures like Sen. S.I. Hayakawa and Congressman Jay Kim, Republicans won the Asian-American vote handily. A series of New York Times exit polls shows the GOP won the Asian-American vote by 24 percentage points in 1992.

    Republicans won the Asian-American vote again in 1996, but Al Gore captured the Asian-American vote in 2000 (54 percent to 41 percent). John Kerry won similar numbers in 2004, while Obama won the group by a nearly 2-1 ratio in 2008.

    What happened in 2000? It's likely Republicans ripped Al Gore a little too hard for the Buddhist Temple fundraiser. Rather than hit Gore for his fundraising tactics, the GOP put greater emphasis on the Buddhist Temple as something alien or un-American, like Gore was wrong to seek a Buddhist vote rather than skirt campaign finance laws.

    Some Republicans don't seem to get the message. While Palin was praising Lin, former GOP Congressman Peter Hoekstra was perhaps ruining any chance his party had of retaking the Asian-American vote. And it occurred during another sport: the Super Bowl.

    Hoekstra, who is running against Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, ran an ad where an Asian-American woman thanks Stabenow for helping make China No. 1 by bankrupting America. Hoekstra vociferously defended the ad but pulled it after it helped Stabenow open a 14-pont lead.

    Unless Republicans engage in some major damage control, they'll again lose the support of another voting group they once owned.
     

    7 comments

    • Bob
      Bob  •  3 mths ago
      Because it causes distractions from the real world and the government failures "We the people..." have to endure every day.
    • Dave
      Dave  •  Shanghai, China  •  3 mths ago
      Do your research, Lin is no rookie
    • Ben Roethlisberger
      Ben Roethlisberger  •  3 mths ago
      screw this chino!

      - that is all
    • Jumbaco!
      Jumbaco!  •  3 mths ago
      It has nothing to do with the "Asian vote". It's like when Obama went to that Chinese Restaurant for a photo op or when Palin has a luncheon with a Women's Group. It's a way for them to get free publicity that makes it seem like they can relate to us common folk.
    • George
      George  •  Reseda, California  •  3 mths ago
      Because they were both nobody, who became overnight sensations, and when reality sinks in they all nothing but hype
    • GPfisher
      GPfisher  •  3 mths ago
      Here's a great guy with great moral character that was on the receiving end of racial slurs from the Ivy League and now from ESPN editors. Tim Tebow is also a great guy with great moral character that has seen his share of attacks from the elite and the media. What's in the water these elite idiots and media folks are drinking?
    • bertha fay
      bertha fay  •  Austin, Texas  •  3 mths ago
      WRONG - it is about publicity any way they can get it. Are we sure all of these candidates (including Obama) are NOT Kardashians? They make Kim K. seem like a "recluse".
     Post a comment
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