Of Swann Songs And Quarterback Sneaks

Do sports and politics mix? As Keith Olberman pointed out on MSNBC Tuesday night, apparently not so much. Lynn Swann? Dead. Jim Ryun? Dead. Michael Steele? Dead. Niedermeier? ...

The voters staged a savage attack on the athletically gifted on Tuesday, with one notable exception, if you call him gifted. Former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler, a Democrat, beat the stuffing out of 11th District Republican incumbent Charles Taylor in the North Carolina House race that Shuler had been expected by some to lose. And those of you who had money on Shuler using a sports analogy in his victory speech? Well, you collect.

"They talk about these sports analogies that I use, but let me tell you what. It is about teamwork."

Despite his political web site claiming that the candidate "has great vision," which is clearly not the case, Shuler led on Tuesday by a large enough margin to claim victory. It may have been the first time that Shuler has heard people chanting "Heath, Heath, Heath" without "must die!" at the end.

Swann Loses Bid To Be Pennsylvania Governor [MSNBC] Heath Shuler For Congress

( Stop Shuler is trying to make sense of all this, as you'd probably guess.)