Dear Cynthia McKinney & Floyd Landis:

Frankly, I’m glad you both lost. I don’t say that because I’m white and one of you is black. Or that I can’t bike more than an hour without passing out and one of you can bike 24/7 across Europe. I really wish you both could have won… given you had a completely different position on politics, race, competition and life in general. You see, America is desperately in need of positive role models right now. People who can demonstrate how to not only advance themselves in society, but can lead the way for others to follow them and do it ethically and successfully from poverty to a thriving, contributing place in society.

But back to you both… Just moments ago, you had the nation’s attention during the Capitol police attack and the Tour de France. Given the situation you both found yourselves in, the press portrayed you both as borderline criminals. This is true yes, but you only reinforced that image as you lash out and reacted in such a negative, pass-the-buck, its-not-my-fault, and in one case reverse-racism. I was truly hoping you would take those moments on the front stage to do something inspiring or constructive… you know, one of those Stan from Southpark “what did we learn today” speeches. But alas, you both only used those precious media moments to escalate attention for yourselves and to blame everyone else on the planet for your own situation vs. being a real leader and facing the truth head-on yourselves. You see, not only are you both bad role models for the black community, athletes, students, fans and constituents, you are both Anti-Role Models. From blaming the Whitehouse for 9-11 to blaming white people for your primary loss, to making excuses for drugs and lying, you both have done more damage than anything constructive. Instead, you’ve shown us how to use lies, race, drugs and physical violence to advance yourself towards success. Hopefully, you’ll both stay out of the public eye for some time to come while we continue to search for responsible, positive examples for all Americans to follow. Right now for me, it’s Stan  ¶ 10:26 AM