Rope-a-Dope

Rope-a-dope is a boxing fighting style used most famously by Muhammad Ali (who coined the term) in the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman.

The rope-a-dope is performed by a boxer assuming a protected stance. Sports fans can still recall Ali's classic pose, lying against the ropes, and allowing his opponent to endlessly pummel him, in the hope that the opponent will become tired and make mistakes which he would exploit in a counter attack. The opponent would often totally exhaust himself, mistakenly believing that this next wild blow would finally send Ali to the canvas.

Ali most famously used the technique in Kinshasa, Zaire, when he knocked out 25 year old George Foreman and regained the World Heavyweight Title. The fight is remembered as "The Rumble in the Jungle".

After dazzling Foreman with his trademark quickness in the first rounds, Ali fell back against the ropes, and waved Foreman to come get him. Protecting his head, Ali let Foreman pound away at his ribs and his gut. "At about the seventh round, I had him beaten, I knew I had him." Foreman recounted after the fight. "Then he fell on my side and whispered, ‘Is that all you got George?’ I knew something strange was happening in my life especially because that was all I had." In the eight round Ali came off the ropes and unleashed a fury of punches against his exhausted opponent. Mighty George Foreman went down.

"I did it," Ali boasted after the fight. "I told you he was nothing but did you listen? I told you I was going to jab him in the corners, I told you I was going to take all his shots. I told you he had no skill. I told you he didn't like to be punched."

So, why is Nickie Goomba taking this stroll down a pugilistic Memory Lane? Here's why...

Sally Quinn, for some unknown reason heading the On Faith section of the Washington Post (Akin to having Perez Hilton covering the NFL Draft) recently wrote a column criticizing Sarah Palin's parenting skills. You may hold your nose and read it here. It concludes with this:

It might seem exploitative of Trig to some who are so cynical about her that they believe everything she does is for self-aggrandizement. So what? But if she really did it she could change the our culture and the way our world views those with disabilities. She would not only be helping millions of people around the world, but her own child as well.

Leaving her job because it's better for "the state" or to pursue her interest in energy or national security is laughable.

Sarah Palin should live up to her self-proclaimed Christian "family values" and do what she says is the moral thing to do: put her family first and help those who cannot help themselves.

Then, of course, there's David Letterman who continues to attack Sarah Palin despite the presidential campaign having ended eight months ago. This is the same David Letterman who has yet to direct his team of writers to construct a substantive joke about President Obama.

Here's a request to all her critics... Keep it coming!!

Sally Quinn, please throw a weekly left jab to Sarah's jaw.

Vanity Fair, keep punching in the clinches.

David Letterman, keep taunting her. Keep getting uncomfortable laughs with one-liners aimed at her looks and her family.

Maureen Dowd, keep throwing the roundhouse.

Huffington Post, uppercut, uppercut, uppercut.

What you all may discover is that the American Public will reach a saturation point. Your constant criticism will stike a discordant note, and the Sarah Palin juggernaut may well pick up even more speed, and with renewed energy, head toward your bunkers. A presidential win? Who knows. But hers will be the voice to energize Conservative voters in 2010.

America loves an underdog. There is nothing so compelling as a comeback story, and the Palin-trashers are helping to write it.


Hat Tip to Wikipedia