I could never figure outwhy Americans want a “regular guy” as president. Used to be a time when you wanted the smartest person around for the top job. Now it seems to all depend on whether voters think they could sit down and have a beer with the candidate instead of what the candidate’s policies are.
And we wonder why America has fallen in the eyes of the world.
Is John McCain now going to be judged on his bowling/basketball/tiddlywinks acumen?

Obama can shoot the 3. Are you kidding? That’s always a good thing.
But can he put the ball on the floor and take it to the hole?

What struck me most about the video was the uncomfortable looks on the faces of the many soldiers who realize they are being used in a photo op for a candidate who despises them and their service.
In Obama’s commencement speech at Wesleyan University in May, he talked about national service in general. He discussed a variety of options for reviving the kinds of service programs initiated by JFK and Clinton. He failed, however, to discuss military service or to recognize it as an acceptable form of national service.
Steve, I appreciate your post was meant somewhat to be tongue-in-cheek, but the country has had enough of charisma (Clinton) and charm (“W”). I think they’ll instead choose character and competence in November.

What always strikes me is how people believe that they can see into the souls of others. In the comment above, “Reaganite in NYC” claims that Obama “despises” soldiers. This is a remarkable accusation. To back this up, Reaganite in NYC gives the example of Obama’s commencement speech at Wesleyan University, where he does not mention the military. I recommend to anyone to go listen to that speech or read a transcript. Do a Google search on “Obama commencement speech Wesleyan”. See if you can hear what Reaganite in NYC seems to hear.
As for the expressions on the faces of the soldiers in the video above, I see something totally different. I see most of the soldiers eager to be around the man who will likely become president, assuming we all don’t listen to the dark and baseless accusations of people like Reaganite in NYC.

Good points, Daniel. You must understand that “Reaganite in NYC’ is simply doing his job: Repeating old hackneyed talking points designed to convince people that Obama is a horrible evil america-hating commie pinko scumbag.
Truth is irrelevant. ANYTHING that the partisan whores can think of that might advance their propaganda goal is acceptible. “Reaganite in NYC” is simply doing his job as a wingnut.
He (and others like him) keep repeating the same thing over and over again (Obama hates regular people and soldiers) hoping that, like Joe Goebbles said, the repetition will substitute for truthfulness. This is typical Republican tactics for elections. WHY does it surprise you?

Have just looked at some half-dozen short videos of Barack Obama playing basketball trying to find one with soldiers in it, made during his recent trip to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Finally found it!
There is a bogus e-mail circulating virally that purports to be a first-hand account of the senator’s brief visit in Afghanistan. It wrongly and maliciously reports that he twice shunned soldiers lined up to greet him, once when he arrived and once in a big tent used for exercise, where he is said to have shot a hoop. But no such events took place.
As we can see, he did shoot hoops in Iraq, shook hands and fraternized with soldiers in the gym.

I love Obama, and this just made me so even more! The way he acts like a normal person has given our nation a real boost.

Obama is the man. He always makes everything look so cool and easy!