With an interesting life story, at the end of his tenure Barack Obama will surely chalk up many firsts for American history books. We already know that Obama loves basketball and is a decent player himself. Known as Barry O’Bomber in high school, he told Barbara Walters that he had dreams of turning pro until he realized he wasn’t good enough. (So, the presidency of the United States was his second career choice?) Obama often joked on the campaign trail that on becoming president he would dismantle the White House bowling alley (he is a lousy bowler) and will put in a basketball court. Now it appears that he not only loves the game but also trusts and fraternizes with other hoopsters. He married Michele Obama whom he met through her brother, a star player at Princeton and now the basketball coach at Oregon State. Obama's partiality towards the game goes beyond his circle of family and friends - he has picked the best "basketball cabinet" in White House history. The burgeoning Obama cabinet will feature several basketball fans and fanatics. I see this as a positive development for the nation's future. An energetic pick-up game of BB where cabinet colleagues sweat and vie for a bouncing ball without much talk, is good for the mind and body - a healthy competition with no time for back biting. Far better than golf which offers colleagues and rivals many opportunities for conspiring and conniving.
Barack Obama, the US President-elect, has boasted that his Cabinet will be the first in US history that can hold its own on a basketball court.
His latest nominee is the 6ft 5in Arne Duncan, who made his name reforming the Chicago school system and has been picked as Mr Obama's Education Secretary. Mr Duncan was the former co-captain of the Harvard basketball team and played professionally in Australia after graduating. He was also chosen to shoot a few hoops with the Democratic candidate on Election Day.
“I did not select Arne because he’s one of the best basketball players I know,” Mr Obama said yesterday. “Although I will say that I think we are putting together the best basketball-playing cabinet in American history.”
For a full list of future cabinet members who could figure on Obama's White House team, see here. The list left out Paul Volcker, who is 6ft 7in and played basketball for Princeton. Although not a cabinet member, the ex-chairman of the Federal Reserve was picked by Obama to be the chairman of his Economic Recovery Board. At 81, I doubt that Mr. Volcker will join others on court as a player or referee. But he could act as the coach. He still got game, I am sure.
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