Damaged Rooster [pictured at the left] had this question for me on Twitter: "Ron, do you think if Shawn Johnson ran for governor, the Des Moines Register would endorse her?"
My answer: I'd say the chance of the newspaper endorsing Shawn, a gymnast/dancer with a million-dollar smile, would be pretty good if she ran for governor. The paper has fallen in love with Johnson. At least one or two editors have. I'm not sure about the reporters who are assigned to occasionally write stories about her.
The trouble is, I doubt Johnson would want the Register's endorsement for governor or any other public office because everyone the paper supports in an election loses.
On second thought, I doubt Johnson would even be interested in being Iowa's governor. She'd have to take too much of a pay cut.
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Speaking of the paper, again, I see the editors are promoting wine and the drinking of wine. With all the problems this country, and particularly central Iowa, has with alcoholism, I wonder why a newspaper in a circulation and advertising freefall chooses to promote the consumption of wine.
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By the way, don't look for me at the West Glen farmers' market. I see there's a $5 admission to the thing. I'm not paying to get into a farmers' market anymore than I'm paying to get into an open house or a number of open houses. I'll stick with the farmers' market at West Des Moines' Valley Junction, which has no admission fee and which is part of what that guy said in today's paper is "fantasyland." Hey, man, aren't we all looking for some sort of fantasyland?
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I rode my red-and-white cruiser bicycle [pictured at the right] yesterday on a few sidewalks and in a church parking lot [thank you, Episcopalians!]. That was the first time I've been on a bicycle in a couple of years. It was a good way to start again, with no gears and a coaster brake. I'm maybe working up enough courage to again ride my vintage fire-engine red, 10-speed Raleigh. But before that happens, I'm going to need two new tires. It's never a good idea to ride a bicycle on tires that haven't been inflated for a couple of years. My days of falling into people's front yards on a bicycle are, hopefully, over.
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I see former House speaker Newt Gingrich says Barack Obama’s plan to fix the economy through stimulus spending and government intervention to boost companies like General Motors Corp. has "already failed." Give me a break. Obama might not know a Prius from a Corvair, but Gingrich saying the guy is striking out is like a pitcher with a 5.62 earned-run average saying the Chicago Cubs have had a bad century.
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Somebody just called to ask if Damaged Rooster is the real name of the guy who asked me about Shawn Johnson running for governor. I said I didn't think so.
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My friend Barry Crist, who cares about the University of Iowa's football team and whatever team Iowa State is playing, pointed me in the direction of a blog written by college football guru Phil Steele.
Steele writes, "Last year Alabama was only ranked No. 24 at the start of the year. The Tide was just 7-6 in 2007, had just 13 returning starters and faced a schedule that had four brutal road games...Alabama amazingly went 12-0 and was ranked No. 1 at the end of the regular season.
"[I wondered] what teams for 2009 had three or more losses last year, but ALL of them were close losses. There were TWO teams who fall into that category and they are Iowa and Ole Miss. Both teams lost four games last year with Ole Miss losing by 2, 6, 7 and 4 and Iowa losing by 1, 5, 3 and 3.
"Iowa is a team that could come out of nowhere like last year's Tide. Just like Bama, Iowa has FOUR tough road games, having to face Big Ten favorites Penn State and Ohio State on the road as well as Michigan St and Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes have my No. 6-rated offensive line and, while the defensive line just missed out on the ratings, they do have my No. 8 defense overall.
"Ole Miss will be a preseason top-10 team, so Iowa has the best shot to be the team with no losses the previous year by more than sevem, that won't be ranked in the top 20 that has a seemingly too-tough schedule that could surprise.
Lots of coulds and maybes, but I think Steele likes the Hawkeyes' chances in 2009. I don't know if I'm as optimistic as he is. Those road games bother me.
