(Note: There is nothing to do with investment research or information technology in the following.)
There is a kind of meandering, non sensical column in the New York Times August 24 that compares former Illinois Senator Barack Obama to either or both Tiger Woods or to Kevin Costner's character in the golf movie, "Tin Cup." (I'm not sure because of the meandering.) The article popped on my little search doo-hickey because of the word "golf" but through the mention of golf strategy and "Tin Cup," the column is really a great metaphor for the Times itself and Obama.
Relative to the Times, the article begins with an odd description of the strategy of competitive golf, something along the lines of "play the course, not the opponent." "Play the course" is always good advice but the strategy that the Times associated with match-play golf in the article is more often associated with stroke play, the type of golf where you have to count every stroke, the lowest absolute stroke total wins, there are no "gimmes," and no running up a big stroke total into a loss on one hole and yet make things "all even" on the next. Judging by its corrections page, the Times is always in need of match-play rules, not "playing the course" rules.
Then there is passing reference to Woods. It has nothing to do with his private life thankfully (if the timing had been right they could have done that column about Bill Clinton).
Finally the article concludes with a paragraph that reads:
"There is a great scene where Dr. Molly Griswold is trying to help Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy, the golf pro, rediscover his swing — and himself. She finally tells him: “Roy ... don’t try to be cool or smooth or whatever; just be honest and take a risk. And you know what, whatever happens, if you act from the heart, you can’t make a mistake.”"
That's where the metaphor for Obama comes in. In the article the Times fails to tell the rest of the story. Following this advice and against all sensible golf strategy (including the advice to "play the course"), Tin Cup proceeded to dump five shots in row into a pond -- costing him 10 strokes and the chance to win a golf tournament. Isn't that the way his term as President has gone?
-- Dennis Byron
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