Yo, Hillary!
Rob Price

"When it comes to finishing the fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit. I never give up!"

What a week in Philadelphia! Hillary Clinton compared herself to Rocky Balboa, son the south Philly streets. And I for one stood up and cheered.

It was a great moment in a great campaign. In New Hampshire, Hillary claimed she found her voice, but that was a lot of nonsense. In Philadelphia, she finlly found her theme song! Rocky! That great trumpet fanfare by Maynard Ferguson: "Dah, da-da-dah, da-da-dah da-da-dah!" Forget all that "You and I" hoo-ee from Celine Dion - which the Clinton campaign sensibly abandoned in six months.. Hillary! Are you reading this? Play the "Theme from Rocky" from now until Pennsylvania's April 22 primary! That'll bring them to their feet!

Those of you who weren't born yesterday may already feel your eyes misting over. In 1976, a virtually unknown actor named Sylvester Stallone wrote and starred in a movie that won the hearts of a nation, even while it made many of us laugh out loud.

Rocky Balboa, a slow talking and, yes, slow thinking southpaw, has grown up in Philadelphia, earning his living as a pug boxer with a zero future. Along comes Apollo Creed - a crude caricature of Muhammad Ali - who gives Rocky a shot at the title as a publicity stunt. Rocky enters the ring with Apollo and …. lasts the entire 15 rounds before losing!

Yes, Rocky loses, but the point is, he doesn't give up, which is what some misguided Democrats are urging Hillary to do. Why should she? Obviously, she watched the movie "Rocky," compared her own beaten up face with Rocky's in the waning rounds of the prize fight and figured, "Hey, I look better than that."

I remember sitting in a movie theater in 1976 with a college buddy, watching "Rocky" and, in particular, the interminable fight sequence that includes:

1) Rocky insisting his eyelid be slit with a razor in order to suppress the swelling

2) Both fighters knocking each other senseless by the end of the tenth round; no professional referee would have let this fight go beyond the fifth round.

3) Both fighters punching each other in the face so often, they are almost unrecognizable. Rocky in particular looks like Oedipus Rex after that unhappy man gouges out his eyeballs.

"God this is a bad movie," my friend said to me.

Indeed it was. Nevertheless, it won two Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture. It also sired numerous sequels, each featuring extended fight scenes with the same fake-violent excesses as the first "Rocky." And Stallone himself went on to invent another great American hero:

Rambo, who lands under fire in Bosnia on a good will tour and - no wait, that was somebody else.

I have only one or two words of caution for Hillary, as she invokes Philadelphia's favorite son. Actually, I have about two hundred.

Remember the facts. It was Hillary herself who started the 2008 Democratic primary in a commanding lead. Technically, that would place her in the position of Apollo Creed, the heavy weight fighter who thinks punching it out with Rocky/Barack is going to be a cakewalk.

And it was Barack Obama who started the primary as an unlikely challenge to Hillary's so-called juggernaut. Who in their right mind thought Rocky had any chance of lasting 15 rounds with Apollo, much less beating him? And who, one year ago, thought Barack Obama had any chance of beating Hillary on points or pledged delegates?

And finally, let's not forget how "Rocky" really ends. Apollo Creed, the fighter everyone expected to win, really does win - on points. If Hillary were interested in comparing her campaign accurately to the Rocky legend, she should be honest and identify Apollo Creed as the character who most resembles her own position. If anyone resembles Rocky, it's Barack, the guy who came out of nowhere and knocked the champ on her can.

And let's not forget there were sequels in the Rocky story. A bloodied Apollo wins the first match. Rocky, older and wiser, comes back in "Rocky II" and claims the championship for himself.

In other words, movie goers, Barack's not going away any time soon.