Today I watched the Army-Navy football game, one of the great spectacles of American sports. What jarred me back to reality was the story of Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs. Dobbs is a great quarterback, who has lead Navy to a 9-4 record and a bowl game. Earlier this year he ran for over 100 yards in a win against Notre Dame, sealing the fate of Notre Dame's coach, the evil Charlie Weis. The game announcers today explained why Dobbs went to the Naval Academy. Dobbs grew up poor in Douglasville, Ga. At age 17, a multi-sport high school athletic star - Dobbs had never in his life been to a dentist. He went to Navy because it seemed like a good way to get health care.
Sometimes you hear the tea-party types talk about how they don't think Obama, the Democrats or the left love America. To which my response is - how can you say you love America, but you're willing to settle for a status quo where a child 17 years old can have never even once visited a dentist? What kind of America is that where the men and women who defend our nation can be allowed to grow up in poverty like that? Did I mention that Dobbs' ambition is to be President? More power to him.