Obama did right thing on this vote

Apolitically speaking, cheers for Barack Obama.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee answered one of the major questions about himself this week.

No, it didn't concern economics, energy or the environment.

To be honest, as a college-educated American voter I still wouldn't understand either party's platform if it were spelled out in crayons.

But I do understand "White Sox or Cubs fan?" and how never the twain should meet.

Many a politician would hear the question, squirm in his seat, swim in his sweat, and say, "I'll have to get back to you on that."

Then his handlers would check the wind and tell him he's a fan of both teams.

Instead Obama declared without hesitation during an ESPN interview, "Sox" and took a couple of stereotypical shots at the whole Wrigley Field experience.

None of this Hillary Clinton nonsense where she's a Cubs fan one day, a Yankees fan the next, a fan of both the next.

Obama said what most people already knew about him: He's a South Side - if not a Sout' Side - Sox fan.

It didn't matter whether Obama was right or wrong in saying baseball isn't as serious in Wrigley Field as it is in Comiskey Park.

Obama has been accused of being too intellectual, but the Cubs-Sox thing is emotional more than intellectual.

(OK, so it's still difficult to imagine Obama sitting on a barstool in a joint like Jimbo's and insisting Joe Crede is having a better season than Aramis Ramirez).

Good for Obama anyway. Good for Gov. Blagojevich for declaring himself a Cubs fan and not wavering. Good for Mayor Daley for declaring himself a Sox fan by birth and beyond.

Good for John McCain for being a Diamondbacks fan, though that's less risky down there than choosing between the Cubs and Sox is up here.

Folks, this isn't the war on terror or gas prices or anything else that seriously impacts our lives. It's just sports - something to care about that doesn't matter.

The question isn't how many votes Obama could lose by offending Cubs fans. It's how many he would have lost by being wishy-washy about the Sox and the Cubs.

Heck, if you can't decide on a baseball team, how are you going to decide on offshore drilling?

The Daleys became a political dynasty while wearing Sox caps, and Blago became governor while wearing a Cubs hat. Being a die-hard fan of either team clearly isn't election suicide.

For Obama, being political means making nice with the Clintons, expressing respect for McCain's public service and severing ties with Rev. Wright.

Being human is saying he's a Sox fan who doesn't particularly like going to Cubs games. He should repeat it during his acceptance speech this week.

Pulling for both the Cubs and the Sox is like being a Reagan Democrat or an Obama Republican. It seems to me that's a contradiction in terms like, say, speed walking.

Baseball fans can convert from the Sox to the Cubs or vice versa, but it says here they can't be for both at once.

So praise to Obama and all other Chicago politicians who refuse to play politics with baseball.

Obama won points, if not votes, for declaring his baseball allegiance in an election year.