OBAMARAMA

With March Madness in the air, it’s no wonder more than a few journalists are devoting ink to the skills of the only presidential contender with any real game, Sen. Obama.

The AP recently sat down with Craig Robinson, Brown University’s coach who also happens to be Sen. Obama’s brother-in-law. Robinson recalled a pickup game they played together shortly after they met:

Robinson remembers that Obama was confident in his game without being arrogant. He took shots when he was open, but wasn’t overly selfish. And he didn’t show off his Harvard Law School pedigree.

“He never wore that on his sleeve, and you can tell the camaraderie that he’d have on the court with people who he didn’t even know,” Robinson said. “You knew that this guy had the ability to win people over.”

The article also includes this great tidbit:

Obama was always clear that politics inspired him, even more than law, Robinson said. He even hinted at his ambition at a family gathering early in the relationship.

“He said, you know, it’d be great one day if I could run for president. And I made a comment like, yeah, yeah that would be great — come on over here and meet my Aunt Gracie,” Robinson said.

…”This is one of those things that’s more important than the individuals involved,” Robinson said. “This is the ultimate team assignment. So everybody has to give up something to make this work.”

Over at the New York Times blogs, Pete Thamel puts left-hander Obama’s game in an historical context in a post titled “Obama, not surprisingly, goes left“:

While we’ve had plenty of presidents who golf (Eisenhower has a tree named after him at Augusta) and President Bush jogs and cycles plenty. But wouldn’t it be interesting to have a president playing noon pick-up games with his cabinet? Shirts and skins at the Rose Garden? The possibilities are endless.