James posted earlier about Football Fans for Truth. And he's not the only one. They've already had stories in numerous papers. For the most part, they're treated like a cute joke. I think even they think they're a cute joke. But I think that behind this cute joke is more than a kernel of truth.

Why does it matter that John Kerry doesn't know about sports and can't play our major sports? Let me count the ways.

1. I don't care that John Kerry doesn't know anything about the Boston Red Sox. Neither do I. I do care that John Kerry tries to fake an interest and a knowledge of the team. He's a faker. He's a panderer. He's lying about who he is in order to get votes. I'd respect the guy a hell of a lot more if, when asked questions like this, he simply said he didn't watch a lot of baseball. Of course, that would require Kerry to give a simple, truthful answer. That's something he's apparently incapable of doing.

2. As an American, there are certain things you should know in order to be culturally literate. The frozen tundra of Lambeau Field is one of those things. To not be familiar with Lambeau Field, to not know your Buckeyes from your Wolverines shows a disdain for the things that the rest of America really cares about. But that makes sense, because John Kerry isn't like you or me. He's better than us. As Mind Killer puts it:

Kerry is, undeniably, aristocracy. President Bush, with his small town mannerisms and southern drawl, can skirt the fact he was silver spoon-fed. Kerry has no such luxury. Judging entirely on appearances, Kerry has the look of a spoiled child. From his upturned nose to his high forehead, Kerry's image screams, "I am better than you." His affiliation with the Catholic Church, long seen in the Bible belt as a sign of irreligiousness and Yankee wealth, does nothing to improve the image. The truth does not matter. Democrats grab on to this image and use it to propel an already degrading party image. Most of America gets the message--John Kerry is better than you are and so is the Democratic Party.

How, one might ask, does the Democrats dream-child, John F. Kennedy factor into this equation. Here was a man who was part of what is realistically, although not literally, labeled American royalty. The difference is that Kennedy knew how to use his aristocratic roots to his advantage. Instead of being the pedant snob, superior to typical Americans, Kennedy portrayed himself as gracious royalty--the knight in shining amour sent to protect and revitalize America. Kennedy was not an intellectual naysayer. Many Americans want to attend to a backyard barbeque with President Bush. The same Americans wanted to go to a state dinner with President Kennedy. Few would choose to spend any time with Kerry.

You cannot wear both the smock of the common man and the mantle of the elite. Nor can you fool all of the people all of the time--eventually one image will prevail. Unfortunately for the Democratic Party, the effort to woo the elites in Hollywood, the media, and education has isolated the most important majority in the prospective voters. A party cannot live by New York and California alone. Kerry may win the White House, but if he does, it will be entirely out of anti-Bush sentiment. Few want Kerry to be their President. A Kerry victory would be an anomaly, a last handhold as the Democrats fall down the slope from prominence to dissolution and irrelevance.

3. Finally, it's not just that Kerry lacks sporting knowledge, it's that he also lacks sports experience. Kerry windsurfs, mountain bikes and skis. And, it pains me to say this, but so do I. I enjoy individual sports far more than team ones. I wrote this awhile back, but it bears repeating:

Participating in the team sport means they know how to work with others, how to accept coaching, how to belong to something bigger than themselves and how to represent someone else, whether it’s their school or a local bar.

In other words, participating in a team sport helps you learn valuable lessons in leadership. That's not a shocking revelation. But I think it's important to remember that Kerry has never been a leader, unless you count his months in Vietnam (and we've all seen how well he did with that). He's never been a Governor. He's never even been the senior Senator from his state. He doesn't have any leadership roles in Congress. He's never been in charge of a business.

He's never had the opportunity to learn how to lead, and the Presidency just isn't the place to learn skills he should have picked up back on the JV football team.