Lance Wins in France

So, Lance Armstrong has won his 7th and final Tour de France. While I am awed at his athletic ability after his horrific bout with cancer and delighted that he, an American, won again, I cannot like him.

I used to like him, back before he dumped his wife and three children, when the twin girls were only tiny babies. That was back before he started dating American-hater, lefty Sheryl Crow. I think we should send her back to Canada.

Now, we have this picture of Lance with good old John Kerry, who was in in favorite country, France, to see Lance win.

Is anyone surprised to see John Kerry hogging someone else's limelight?

Watching Armstrong during his warmup for Saturday's time trial, the Democrat from Massachusetts listed the Texan's winning qualities.

"What's made him so special at the Tour de France, and as an athlete, is the level of focus, discipline, intelligence, strategic ability, and obviously, his endurance — his ability to just take it on and go," Kerry said.

Those qualities would serve Armstrong well in politics, Kerry said. But Armstrong is also friendly with fellow Texan President Bush.

"I think he'd be awesome, he'd be a force. I just hope it's for the right party," said Kerry, an avid cyclist and longtime fan of the Tour de France.

Kerry said he had tapes of last year's Tour delivered during his presidential campaign last year.

Armstrong, who plans to retire after this year's Tour, sealed a historic seventh straight victory Sunday. He has not ruled out a career in politics after he quits.

I had heard that Lance Armstrong was a Republican, but then I found this article. It was written by Alastair Campbell, for the Feb 28, 2004, edition of the UK Times Online.

Once we settle down to talk at a long wooden table, we are swapping stories about George W. Bush, his fellow Texan. We agree that our politics are different to Bush's, but that the President is smarter, funnier and more likeable than the caricature. Even Sheryl, whose politics Armstrong describes as "way out Left", says that it's hard to meet Bush and not like him. I had assumed, because he and Bush were Texans and I'd seen pictures of them laughing and joking in the Oval Office, that Armstrong was a Republican. But he says his politics are "middle to Left". He is "against mixing up State and Church, not keen on guns, pro women's right to choose". And very anti war in Iraq.

So the "summit" has begun and here I am, thinking that I'd be getting hours of top-quality insight for my triathlon training, and, instead, it's like I am back in my old job, defending military action, defending the Bush-Blair relationship, insisting we did the right thing and saying, long term, it will make the world a safer place. But Armstrong is screwing up his face and he won't have it. "I don't like what the war has done to our country, to our economy," he says. "My kids will be paying for this war for some time to come. George Bush is a friend of mine and just as I say it to you, I'd say to him, 'Mr President, I'm not sure this war was such a good idea', and the good thing about him is he could take that."

He mocks my line that you have to "give it time" before those weapons of mass destruction show up. "You know when they caught Saddam and the doctors were rooting through his beard and Sheryl said to me, 'Why are they doing that?' and I said, 'They're looking for them weapons'. Come on, man." He laughs and shakes his head and I know I'm not going to persuade him. "What's Blair like?" he asks. "He a good guy?" I say he is. "Yeah, looks a good guy."

To top it all off, this man, who barely survived his battle against cancer, is an athiest--he prefers to believe in the saving power of science, rather than the saving grace of God.

Although he's a fabulous bicyclist, I can't say much for him as a man.