I was especially impressed by the athlete from Peru’s story.  I know he has no realistic chance to win a medal, but I’ll root for him anyway!  Maybe he’ll have the run of a lifetime and win the gold!  Could happen!  I also plan to root for the Republic of Georgia after their tragic situation.  I also root for all the small countries who have no chance or who have never won a medal before.  Paraguay had never won a medal in any Olympic sport until 2004 in Athens when they won the silver in soccer.  (I went on a missions/eclipse trip to Paraguay and it is an interesting nation few get to go to!)  I also root for the three Baltic Republics (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia), occupied illegally in 1940 and thankfully never recognized as part of the USSR by our nation and finally independent at last!

In a new and potentially disturbing development, Canada is taking a decidedly unCanadian attitude toward this Olympics:  Own the Podium!

From the USA Today of January 29:

“Canada has an aggressive new attitude,” Stephen Colbert said on his Comedy Central TV show. “In contrast to their previous slogan: ‘Pardon, would it trouble you if we won a medal or two? It would? OK. Never mind!’ ”

Rarely in Olympic history has the host nation failed to win even one gold medal. Twice, the too-gracious host has been Canada — at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary.

That won’t happen again. “Own the Podium” is more than a battle cry. It is a $117 million Canadian (about $110 million U.S.) business plan that provides Canadian athletes in select sports with more coaching, enhanced training and paid travel — plus this ambitious goal: Place first in the total medal count.

Perhaps this is the wave of the future.  The larger countries will use their technological advantages to dominate the medal count and further shut out the smaller nations.  (One thing about the Winter Olympics is that smaller nations like Norway can do well.)  Hence my enduring interest in the opening ceremonies – the nations, their costumes, their flags etc.! 

In some ways this encourages a degree of cynicism.  I always figured during the Cold War days, the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies would cheat their way to the podium while one of our athletes would be banned from the games for cold medicine!  I watched the famous ending of the USA-USSR basketball game in 1972 and shook my head in derision (I think they interrupted that game to show Taiwan being kicked out of the UN!) at how the ref put time back on the clock and the Soviets then won.      

Understand, I do want USA to do well!  BEAT CANADA!  But if some small nation that has never won or hardly wins a medal wants me to organize their curling team, I’ll take some lessons and read the rules and help them win a medal!  Ought to be a nice consulting fee out of it!  Just contact me through this blog entry! 

Remember, for more information about curling near you, contact USA Curling at this webpage.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is a possible candidate.  He has a good post-Katrina reputation (although predictably Salon disagrees) and also worked on tort reform in MS.  But he is a former lobbyist and head of the RNC.  He spoke in Iowa and is the head of the GOP governor’s association must be respected.

Senator John Thune – South Dakota is a giant killer:  He beat Minority Leader Tom Daschle in his second try for the Senate.  (He may have won the first time, too!  His graciousness in conceding defeat is a lesson for all aspirants.)  Thune is competent, telegenic and charismatic.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.  Gingrich is also a giant-killer – he ended the Democratic hold on the House of Representatives in 1994.  But the Gingrich Revolution failed or was derailed (Sen. Tom Coburn in his great book, Breach of Faith, says it was derailed by DC as usual).    I admire Gingrich very much.  He is a rare visionary and intellectual who was successful in politics.  He is a fascinating person for politics:  He wrote this review on a book on trilobites, yes that is not a misprint, trilobites, those little prehistoric animals that lived for about 400,000,000 years or so as the scientists count time.  Gingrich was a professor at a small Georgia college before he became Speaker.  He is interested in running for President it seems to me.  However, he has personal and congressional baggage (not all is true but will be used against him) from his years in DC.  Gingrich would be a polarizing choice.  Gingrich and Ron Paul in a debate forum in 2012 would be a nightmare for the other candidates:  No slick solutions allowed!

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani is eyeing another run for the White House but he is also giving serious consideration for Governor of his home state.  I think the governorship of New York is more likely with maybe eye on 2016 or 2020.