Peyton Manning for President!

Entertainers have always enjoyed success in politics.  Reagan was President, Schwarzenegger was Governor, Tom Petty will be Mayor at least according to “The Postman.”  Sports figures haven’t done quite as well.  There have been some Mayors or Governors like Dave Bing, Kevin Johnson and some Congressmen like Jack Kemp (Republican VP nominee in 1996), Steve Largent, Jon Runyan, Heath Shuler.  Not to mention some Senators like Jim Bunning and Bill Bradley who was probably the most successful and after 18 years in the Senate, he was unsuccessful in winning the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.  But aren’t athletes judged by winning the big one?  In this case the Presidency.

This got me thinking.  Is there any athlete competing right now that has a shot at being President of the United States of America after they retire?

To even be considered in the potential pool they’d need three things: visibility, likability and a track record of success.  Here are the candidates that I came up with: Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Lebron James, Alex Rodriguez, Michael Phelps, and Peyton Manning,

Right off the bat you can throw out Tiger Woods, Lebron James and Alex Rodriguez because of their likability.  I’m not saying they aren’t likable to some or even a majority, but there are enough people out there who’s opinions are already tainted to the point that would make these three unelectable.  Similarly, Tom Brady is out.  For every woman that I’ve met who loves Tom, I’ve met one who has brought up that he left his pregnant girlfriend for a supermodel. 

That leaves us with Derek Jeter, Michael Phelps and Peyton Manning.  These three have fewer flaws.  Phelps is probably out because of the marijuana thing but he’s also the youngest so there’s a lot of time left for him to overcome that, especially if marijuana ever becomes legal in the States.  Jeter and Manning are basically identical when it comes to individual successes (Jeter has more rings, Manning has more records), and likability.  We are left with visibility.  Jeter has only played for the Yankees which I’d argue does have tremendous benefits when it comes to global visibility but also has the downside of not being seen in more domestic markets.  That leaves only Peyton. 

Peyton Manning has one of the highest Q ratings of any athlete, as at least as a few years ago.  So he’s visible and likable.  His on-field successes are noted but even more so he comes from a successful family with his father (NFL quarterback) and his brother (NFL quarterback and two time Super Bowl MVP).  On top of all this his career has taken him around the country, from Louisiana to Tennessee, to Indianapolis to Denver.   When you factor in the charity work that the entire Manning family does and how highly regarded Eli is in the greater New York area, you see that Peyton easily hits several important areas in the Electoral College.  It’s very feasible that he could carry the South, the Mid West, the Mountain Region and parts of the North East (Massachusetts is probably out).  I’m not arguing that Peyton could take off the helmet and waltz into the Oval office but after a few terms as a Congressman or Senator, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was walking into the White House for at least 4 years.