As of this very moment, there are two men that are dominating the news – and both of them are just awful at their chosen professions. But amazingly enough, we are all witnessing mediocrity rise to incredible heights as a lousy NFL quarterback is leading his team to victories while a lousy politician is leading the race for the GOP nomination for President.

Yes, my friends, with Newt Gingrich and Tim Tebow, America is putting its worst foot forward and getting a chance to enjoy the fruits of lousiness. And while the two are incredibly different in many ways, there are some striking similarities to their current runs of success.

Unexamined, both Tebow and Gingrich look like winners. Tebow has led the Denver Broncos to six victories in seven games, often pulling off miracle comebacks to get the job done. Gingrich has managed to become the consensus front-runner of the race to the GOP nomination, despite having his campaign all but die at birth.

There is one simple reason for the duo’s success, however – an incredible lack of competition. Tebow’s six victories have come against teams with a combined 29-42 record, with none of them resembling a playoff team.

For Gingrich, his race to the top of the GOP comes against an even worse field. Keep in mind, Herman Cain was the GOP front-runner only a scant few weeks ago. Donald Trump has spent time on top of the polls. For the most part, Gingrich has ascended to the top for one main reason – his name isn’t Mitt Romney.

Thus, the current successes of Gingrich and Tebow have mostly come in spite of themselves. Gingrich is no doubt an experienced politician, but his barrage of affairs and divorces make Kim Kardashian look like a spokesperson for successful marriage. Add to that the fact that he is more of a flip-flopper on issues than Romney, as well as his bizarre, angry white guy proclamations – such as his latest push of ending child labor laws because poor children have no one around them that has a work ethic – and it becomes clear that Gingrich is not just out of touch with modern America, he’s not even within shouting distance.

And while Tebow is obviously a very talented athlete, his quarterbacking abilities are abysmal. He has virtually no field vision and the passing game obviously moves far too fast for him to react. He often looks like a punter trying to make a throw on a trick play rather than a starting quarterback. And while it’s worked thus far against mediocre competition, an option quarterback just has no place in the modern NFL.

Keep in mind, the differences between the two are greater than the similarities. Tebow is a likable young man who is earnest in his religious beliefs. He has natural leadership skills – make no mistake, the Broncos have become a better football team solely due to him.

Gingrich, on the other hand, is about as unlikable a person as exists in America today. His religious beliefs – he’s a Catholic now, by the way – are completely transparent and self-serving. His leadership abilities have wrecked his own party and created political discourse that makes schoolyard taunting look like an MIT lecture. The GOP is a worse party, solely due to him.

In the end, we are currently watching a lousy quarterback win NFL games and a lousy politician lead the GOP field. But one thing can be said with the utmost certainty – both Gingrich and Tebow will see their seasons end in humiliating defeat.

–WKW

Crossposted at William K. Wolfrum Chronicles