Media MonsterNBASports & Politics

Obama Saying, “We’re The Miami Heat, And He’s Jeremy Lin” About Mitt Romney Is A Thing That Happened

The New York Times published a story on President Barack Obama yesterday detailing his competitiveness and drive to do well in everything he tries (as well as his fondness for pointing out this personality trait to others). Not surprisingly, that competitiveness currently manifests itself most clearly in an intense desire to beat Mitt Romney in November and avoid becoming a one-term president.

How intense? Well, the author of the story, Jodi Kantor, described a meeting Obama held earlier this year with Democratic governors from around the country. One of those governors, Montana’s Brian Schweitzer, asked Obama point-blank if he had it in him to win re-election. That got the competitive juices flowing – so much so that it was sports metaphor time:

No matter what moves Mr. Romney made, the president said, he and his team were going to cut him off and block him at every turn. “We’re the Miami Heat, and he’s Jeremy Lin,” Mr. Obama said, according to the aide.

Presumably, the president was referring to this game (from February, so it makes sense given the timing of the meeting) in which the Heat completely shut Lin down. Of course, given how close the race is running, Obama has a ways to go to live up to that remark. What he did do there, however: live up to his status as a legitimate basketball fan. You can question his devotion to other sports (see “Cominsky Field“), but the Heat-Lin line was coming from someone clearly following things pretty closely.

It also made us wonder: if Team Obama is the Heat, who’s who? We’d imagine Obama is LeBron (though if Kantor’s article is any indication, he might prefer to be seen as some combination of LeBron, Wade, Erik Spoelstra, and Pat Riley). Joe Biden(opoulos) would be an obvious choice as Wade, but he’s more of a Chris Bosh, since everyone enjoys laughing at him.

Spoelstra? He’s David Axelrod, running the re-election show (UPDATE: we should note campaign manager Jim Messina may be most deserving of this role, but Axelrod has to be someone on this team, doesn’t he?). Pat Riley? That’d be Valerie Jarrett – in the background, but you damn well better believe she’s still there. And that leaves our best choice for Wade as: the First Lady. Even the apparently enormously prideful president would have to admit he couldn’t have gotten where he is without her there.

[h/t Zach Lowe]

Getty photo, by Mark Wilson

Follow Glenn Davis