Muhammad Ali and Barack Obama

 I am the greatest.
 
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
 
Not only do I knock ’em out, I pick the round.
 
I ain’t got no quarrel with the Viet Cong.
 
Rope-a-dope

Quotes by and on Muhammad Ali
 
In many ways, Muhummad Ali and President Obama are similar – both have Muslim surnames, both rose from humble beginnings, both are cultural icons, both have successful coping strategies.
Both have lofty images of themselves. Ali thinks of himself as the “greatest”, Obama as a “transformational President.”

Ali says a key to his success is to “ Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” Obama likes to float above the common herd – critics, other politicians, the opposing party, even his own party.

Obama also likes to sting like a bee – using drones to take out Al Quida leaders, the megaphone blame his adversaries, surrogates in government to financially undermine critics and cast doubts on their integrity and patriotism.

As dominant celebrities and heroes of their respective realms, the boxing ring and the political arena, they pick their shots, whether that be the next championship bout or the next election.

While being aggressive, they both pose as men of peace, as friends of humankind, regardless of ideologies, terrorist-acts, or political or cultural differences.

As the dominant and visible celebrities and heroes of their respective realms, the boxing ring and the political arena, they can pick their shots, whether that be the next championship bout or the next election.
While being aggressive, they can both pose as men of peace, as friends of humankind, regardless of ideologies, terrorist-acts, or political or cultural differences.

Then, there’s the Rope-a-Dope strategy. Hang on like a dope on the ropes, letting opponents punch themselves out, while hitting nothing but air and gloves.

Rope –a-dope is a boxing style associated with Muhammed Ali in his 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” match against George Foreman.

In competitive situations other than boxing. like politics , Rope-a-Dope describes strategies in which one party purposely puts itself in what appears to be a losing position, attempting thereby to become the eventual victor.

This may be Obama’s strategy. Let critics of the four “scandals” now underway - Benghazi, IRS targeting, monitoring of Associated Press reporters and editors, and Obamacare implementation- have their day. Let them punch themselves out. Let the controversies fad. Then counterpunch to achieve a November 2014 midterm knockout.

Tweet: Coping strategies of Muhammed Ali and Barack Obama are similar and effectively protect their legacies and control their destinies