The heavyweight champion as a political tool, history repeats itself!

****, man, I feel you are right. Putin is operating from a 19th century model of nationalism.

I don't care how hard or learned or jaded you are, peace is the only answer to the question of saving this race.

 

Hmm, Joe Louis, civil rights, and 30's America all mentioned in the same sentence. Irony at it's best.

Lets hope US paranoia, and its quest for oil doesn't lead to another Iraq. Then there will be trouble.

 

Vitali is a slam dunk for the hall of fame too. Whether you liked him in boxing or not, you have to admire him outside the ring. Few with wealth and health would risk put their family in the cross fire of political un-rest to help out their country.

 

There are un-written rules of engagement in modern warefare. No nation with the ability to deploy nuclear weapons directly attacked by a nation who has them.

Putin and his mob like profiteers view the Ukraine as untapped nature resources to control and profit on.

Not to get over political here, but Obama is viewed as weak. He could not even keep his promise on Syria who used chemical and bio weapons against his own people.

 

where the heck is Ronnie Reagan

 

Amen. The leaders today for the west are weak. Meanwhile Putin soars.

 

Reagan was in charge when the Berlin Wall fell. He commanded respect from allies and political opponents. Could he work out something in the Ukraine if he was the President today? Hard to say. I think he could.

 

I like Putin as a man, he is a good leader and has balls and brains and I think the underlining lack of reverence for the western leaders. IMO a guy like Reagan stood his ground,communicated well and was respected

 

I think traditionally almost every American world HW champion (up to Cassius Clay anyway) has been expected to be a "political" symbol for "Americanism", and the vast majority did so naturally, almost every one of them paid tribute to being American and the superiority of Americans. Americans played the national anthem at every fight card.
American sport is highly politicized, or at least nationalistic, when competing against non-Americans especially.

Schmeling and Carnera get singled out because the nature of the Fascist regimes and that historical period in retrospect as a prelude to world war.
But I think any government and nation would make a flag-waving nationalistic fuss over a world heavyweight champion.
I mean, Schmeling received that kind of treatment under the Weimar republic. Of course, the Nazis and Goebbels' propaganda machine took it to another level when he beat Joe Louis ..... but even guys on this site say that was the greatest HW win in history, so who can blame them !

As for Vitali Klitschko, it's a different matter, he's not an athlete being used as a tool, he's directly involved in politics as a politician.

Personally, I think Putin's got a far better case for having some hegemony over the bordering areas of Ukraine than the Western-media will allow. It's like he supposed to just sit there and being encircled by pro-Western regimes ... a nationalist Ukraine in cahoots with a strong Germany (not a good mix, kids :nono)
****, imagine the USA allowing a hostile regime to spring up in Mexico Or a pro-Russian Canada :rofl
I see most people see it the other way. But realistically Russia's not rolling over yet.

 

G.H.W. Bush was president when the Berlin Wall fell. Reagan had been gone for several years.

 

Obama is viewed as weak by Republicans, because they try to hype up the right wing to pine for the "glory" days of Ronald Reagan.

Actually, Obama has ordered the deaths of more human beings - both in groups and individuals - all over the globe than any president in my lifetime.

There is a great article about Obama in Esquire Magazine - written several years ago - called "The Lethal Presidency of Barack Obama."

He's far from weak. He's left a trail of high-profile (and tens of thousands of not so high profile) dead people who learned otherwise.

If Obama was a Republican, he'd be considered the most dangerous bad-ass leader to come along in decades. He's certainly ordered the deaths of more people than either Bush or Reagan ever did. And history is not likely to view him in a stellar light because of it.

 

Nm