Carlos Boozer for President in 2012

A couple of days ago Kristi West asked me to take pictures at the dedication of the new covered outdoor basketball court at the Zach Gordon Youth Center. The keynote speaker was to be Carlos Boozer, former Juneau-Douglas High School basketball star and current NBA master hoopster. I happily accepted the assignment.

I hadn't set foot in the Zach Gordon Youth Center in many decades - and while the basic building remains the same the activity level is way up from what I recall. Kristi is the manager and is doing a bang-up job. Before the dedication I wandered around the building and took a bunch of pics - including the one below of the fishing club. There were a bunch of kids in the facility having a good time - basketball, Foosball, pool and more. I was quite impressed.

Zach Gordon Youth Center Fishing Club

At 5 PM sharp the dedication got underway with music and the usual bloviations from local officialdom. However there is no doubt that Carlos stole the show.

Carlos Boozer signs autographs

Carlos signs a backboard on the new basketball court

Afterward it occurred to me that Carlos is far superior in every respect to our other recent Alaskan celebrity and perhaps ought to consider a career in politics. And although I have no idea what his political ambitions or inclinations might be; it seems to me that if the Republican party determines that the cachet of having an Alaskan on the presidential ticket in 2012 is irresistible, then they are barking up the wrong tree with Ms. Palin and ought to court Carlos instead.

• As a graduate of JDHS and Duke University, Mr. Boozer is certainly better educated than Sarah.
• His negotiating skills are superior to Palin's - Carlos has a $70 million dollar contract to play what is, after all, just a game; whereas Sarah is paying a Canadian company $500 million as part of a contract to build a gas line without even a guarantee that the damn thing will actually be built.
• Carlos has established a foundation to combat sickle cell anemia whereas Sarah's foundation was set-up merely to pay yellow-bellied tort feasors and her other her legal bills.
• Carlos is an advocate for drug-free youth - an endeavor that, to this point at least, is unblemished by hypocrisy and failure unlike a certain former Governor's foray into the field of teen sexual abstinence.
• Yesterday I heard Carlos speak without notes and in complete, coherent and grammatically correct sentences - a feat that I have yet to hear Ms. Palin accomplish.
• Mr. Boozer is a disciplined professional athlete and no quitter - indeed the problem with professional athletes is that all too frequently they don't know when to quit.
  
• Carlos can afford his own wardrobe.
  
• Finally, the White House already has a basketball court - something that would, no doubt, be replaced with an indoor rifle range should Sarah become the nation's Chief Magistrate.

I could go on and on...but you get the drift.

Well, time to load all my Zach Gordon pics on a disc for Kristi and hit the road to Elderburg and town. Have a good weekend everybody!