It was actually former Denver Bronco Shannon Sharpe.
Could have been worse. It could have been George Jefferson.
Or Webster.
We haven’t really gotten into explaining our differences as humans to my daughter yet. For our own sake, she’s probably reaching that age. I don’t want to be meeting President Obama every time we go to the grocery store or a movie or Chuck E. Cheese.
I won’t make this a political column. Obama is our new president. Some of you think that’s good. If you’re proud conservatives like my parents, then you think it’s really bad.
Everybody is entitled to an opinion and, regardless of the naysayer, I’m pretty sure that won’t change. But watching last week’s election coverage, I couldn’t help but put it into a historical context. Because whether you think Obama is the great (un-white) hope or a talking head with no substance, he will be the first African-American to govern our country.
I find myself putting events into context for what they mean for my daughters. Of course, that’s what politicians ask you to do. “Think of your children. Think of your children’s children. Think of your children’s children’s pet rabbit and Joe the Plumber’s kids too.”
But for their sake, I like to see ceilings shattered. I’ll admit I wouldn’t have been very happy if Hillary Clinton was our next president, but for the social importance of that move, I would have taken a step back and been proud. If Sarah Palin runs and wins in 2012, then will I see that as a landmark?
You betcha. And even if my daughters have a one in one zillion chance of ever being African-American (scientists have already proven), I think of the different world they will grow up in.
In school, we were always told “Anybody could be president.” But that wasn’t necessarily true. I, for instance, lacked the Ivy League genes and garish bone structure to run for the president. The girl next to me in kindergarten ate paste, so we knew she wasn’t going to be president. She did become a teen beauty queen.
But when a teacher tells her class today that her students could be president, she might be telling the truth.
Shannon Sharpe as president.
Well, you never know.
