LeBron James As Political Smear Campaign Fodder

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↵We already know that the implications of LeBron James’ free agency decision extend beyond the world of sports. There’s an obvious economic impact to be had, or else you wouldn’t have governors and mayors appearing in videos trying to convince King James to come to their market.↵↵It being an election year and the proverbial long knives coming out, not only can LeBron be used to score cheap political points with a sports-mad constituency, but he can be also used to trash the opposition. While incumbent Ohio governor Ted Strickland is leading the charge to get LeBron to resign with the Cavaliers, joining other state luminaries in creating a video plea to the superstar, his Republican gubernatorial opponent John Kasich is going the contrarian route. Appearing on Fox News Radio last week, Kasich told Alan Colmes he was refusing to join the “chorus” begging LeBron to stay, saying a governor has better priorities with which to concern himself.↵

↵↵That’s an arguable sentiment, but it’s also an issue Democrats are eager to pounce upon, as the party has created an attack video set to Three Dog Night’s cover of “One” to make it seem as though Kasich’s stance is that of an isolated outsider. So LeBron’s decision could not only change the course of NBA history, it could do the same for Ohio politics.↵

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