Blawgletter loves sports analogies. Politics, like law, seems to produce plenty of them.
Take the one that Iowa Governor (and presidential hopeful) Tom Vilsack used in early December 2006. "Currently the president has a strategy to run out the clock and shift responsibility to make the tough decisions to the next administration, which is an unfortunate thing for America and unfortunate thing for Iraq," he said in a Reuters interview.
Running out the clock works in a lot of sports — football, basketball, even hockey. When your team has the lead, slowing the game down can prevent your opponent from scoring before time runs out.
Our president played baseball in college, and later he ran the Texas Rangers nine. He might therefore answer to Governor Vilsack that you can’t run out the clock in America’s game. With innings yet to play, he might add, we won’t try it in Iraq either.
What do analogies have to do with business trial law? Only that comparisons have their limits. A smart opponent can turn your brilliant analogy into a weapon against you. What seemed a certain line-drive double for you becomes a double play for him.
As baseball legend Yogi Berra said, "if you don’t know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else." Dare to compare, my friend, but do it with care.
© 2007 Barry Barnett. All rights reserved.