Da Almost-Ran

So, it seems there will be no campaign for Senator Mike Ditka. I have to admit that I am a little disappointed by this. Although Ditka is hugely famous, it wouldn’t necessarily have been a fame that served him well in Washington. He has behaved . . . if not oddly, then at least non-political on more than one occasion, he got upset at the media when they tried to cover his meeting with G.O.P. representatives, and he genuinely perceives himself as being “one of the people.” And maybe he is. Although he has more money and name recognition than most of us will ever know, he said on the Today show (in a comment that seemed no more than half-joking) that he’d been advised that he’d have to wear a suit every day, and that didn’t seem enticing. Who can’t relate to that?

Not that I wanted Ditka to win. His opponent would have been Barack Obama, one of the Democratic Party’s up-and-comers, and I would much prefer to have an experienced politician backing the policies I tend to support than a “common man” backing the one’s I don’t care for. I find it curious that Obama, if elected, will be only the third black senator since reconstruction. I find that a startling fact. Maybe I shouldn’t.

So, Ditka will stay a commentator, and occasionally be a call-back when the Saturday Night Live creators tire of writing original material. I wish him well, and hope he can avoid suits. Frankly, his neck was not meant for neckties.