If football games were like the primary system...

Way back, a long time ago, pro football games used to be played on Sunday afternoons. And that was about it.

Before Monday Night Football.

Before Saturday football.

Before Sunday night football.

Before cable.

Before expansion.

The NFL and the AFL had merged. Three NFL teams (Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Cleveland) joined the 10 AFL teams to form the AFC. And the remaining NFL teams made up the NFC.

Sunday, at 1:00, there'd be a football game starting on one channel. Then, at 4:00, there'd be a game on the other network.

Except when the area team played a road game in Baltimore. They kicked off at 2:00 for some reason.

Anyway, the 1:00 game was real, genuine, hard-nosed football, and always ended in time for the 4:00 game to start.

Okay, not always. There was the "Heidi Bowl" game. But that was a 4:00 game. It ran long, and was cut off so that NBC could show Heidi ... and football fans would miss two Oakland touchdowns that turned the game around.

That was a big deal, because the network wasn't prepared for it.

Games never went long. Three hours was plenty long enough.

Today, though, pro football games take too long. Waaaaayyyy too long.

But, watching this political primary season, I think have discovered the solution.

Play pro football games like they are the primaries.

After the coin flip and kickoff, if a team makes two first downs, declare them the front-runner. Have members of the defense -- say, some 2nd or 3rd stringers -- leave the sidelines and head to the locker room.

Midway through the first quarter, check the scoreboard. Whoever has the lead, declare them the inevitable winner, and urge the team that's behind to pack it in. And some of the players do.

After every first down, punt, score, or turnover, the announcers call on players who are behind, or who aren't leading in rushing, passing, receiving, tackles, or some other such statistic, to pack it in.

And some of the players do.

Then, after the big half-time show, when one team is leading -- even with half a game of football left to play -- the announcers tell the players on the team that's behind to call it quits.

And sometimes, they do.

Yeah, if football games were done like the political primaries, it could really change things.

We wouldn't have to worry about football games dragging on and on. They'd be over at half-time.

Just think about it.

Kickoff at 1:00. Then, barely 2:30 and we can turn the channel and watch Star Trek, Whacked Out Sports, or a Law & Order rerun.

You know. The same ole same ole.

Why I'm voting for Barack Obama

I was supporting Fred Thompson in the race for President.

But Fred dropped out. And we're left with four on the GOP side: John McCain, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Ron Paul.

We can strike my voting for Ron Paul because ... well ... he's an idiot. As are many of his supporters. Not all, but the lion's share. Them folks is nuts.

So, that leaves McCain, Romney, and Huckabee.

Which to vote for?

Quite honestly, it really doesn't matter. I'm not a huge fan of any of them. One's about as good as the other, in my book.

On the Democratic side, though, there is a difference.

You got Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton, an unqualified liberal.

And you got Barack Hussein Obama, an unqualified liberal.

Of these two, which is the worst?

Obama.

Oh, I despise Hillary Clinton. Ain't got no use for the woman. But she'd actually be a better president than Obama. The one area where they really differ is Iraq.

I believe Obama means it when he says he'd pull troops out.

I don't believe Clinton means it.

I think she'll say whatever it takes to get the nomination, then afterwards, say what it takes to get elected. Then, if for no other reason than she's not a dummy -- evil isn't dumb, after all -- she'll continue the mission. She won't pull the troops out until the job's done.

And that's why I'm voting for Obama.

The state here has an open primary. You don't have to be a member of a party to vote in that party's primary. You can vote in the Democratic or the Republican primary, either one. But not both, of course.

I'm not a registered Republican. And a darn sure ain't no registered Democrat.

I'm a registered voter with no party affiliation.

And I'm a conservative.

And say what you will, McCain, Huckabee, or Romney -- any of them -- will be a darn sight better than anything the Democrats are running.

Yes, despite what some Republicans or conservatives are saying, there is a difference between the three Republicans and the Democrats. (Yes, I'm omitting Ron Paul. Because he's nuts.)

I don't think Obama stands a snowball's chance in Hell of winning the presidency.

Not because he's Black. Sure, there are some that would not vote for him because he's Black. But there's also some that would vote for him just because he's black.

But his race won't get him elected ... or keep him from getting elected.

What will happen is that, should he be the nominee of the Democratic party, most Americans ... those with some sense, anyway ... will realize that he's ... well ... just not qualified.

He's a liberal's wet dream.

And a conservative's, too. Because his nomination guarantees a Republican win in November.

So, for that reason alone, I plan to vote for Obama in today's primary.

Update: Another view.

Polls

You know what's funny about the New Hampshire primary results?

All the polls showed Barack Hussein Obama leading Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton in that state ... and Clinton up and beat Obama.

Okay, I'll admit it. The conspiracy theorist in me says it was all a setup to make Clinton "the comeback kid II." But that's silly.

Here's what I really do find interesting, though.

The polls were wrong. Very wrong.

And all the Democrats seem okay with that.

But I wonder ...

Suppose it was November. And suppose the Democratic nominee was leading the Republican nominee in the polls. And suppose the Republican ended up winning.

What would happen?

I think you'd hear all the Dems calling "fraud" and saying all those polls couldn't have been wrong, so the election must have been stolen.

Today, though, the silence is deafening.