In the buildup to Muhammad Ali's 1974 fight against George Foreman in Zaire, the "Rumble In The Jungle," the prevailing wisdom was that Ali could not prevail against the bigger, stronger Foreman, who had clobbered Joe Frazier and Ken Norton (Ali had lost to both men - Norton had broken Ali's jaw - but he had since avenged those losses). Even Ali's own people feared that Foreman would kill Ali in the ring. However, as soon as the first round bell rang, Ali's initial act was to come up and pop the more powerful Foreman square in the face.
The message that Ali telegraphed to Foreman? "I am not afraid of you."
Barack Obama could do much to make Georgia an Obama state by ringing up the Neal Boortz show on Atlanta's WSB-AM 750, which runs from 8:30 to 12 noon local time and delivering his own brand of "first punch" to Atlanta conservative talk radio's own George Foreman.
I'm not going to go out of my way to tear down Boortz, but suffice it to say that from the time he signs on at 8:30 on weekdays, he has been spending a preponderance of his airtime tearing down Barack Obama, "the Democrat [sic] Party," and other Democrats, referring to Obama as a "dangerous man." WSB-AM is owned by Cox Radio which in turn is controlled by Cox Communications, which also owns WSB-TV and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and through that arrangement Boortz' program is syndicated into other states. WSB-AM also carries Sean Hannity's syndicated show as well as a show hosted by 2004 Republican US Senate candidate and former Godfather's Pizza Chairman and CEO Herman Cain. So, for many hours a day, WSB-AM is pretty much the Defeat Obama station.
What would it be like if Barack Obama rung up "The Talkmaster"'s show cold? Or, if Obama comes to Atlanta in support of Democratic US Senate (and Orange To Blue) candidate Jim Martin, what's to keep him from showing up at WSB's door and sitting down with Boortz in person? Even making the effort is news, and for Boortz and/or his people to not usher him in and sit him down in front of a microphone would make even trying a win-win for Obama.
Speaking of Orange To Blue, I ran down the roster of candidates and lobbed some anvils at their opponents just last night; you can too!