Herschel Walker: All-American, dunce
Herschel Walker was the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Georgia.
(Note: He happened to break at least five school rushing records that had been held by Uniontown鈥檚 Kevin McLee.
Walker was also an Olympic bobsledder 鈥� and a mixed martial artist.
He could even be considered a renaissance man if he hadn鈥檛 been a man with such a checkered set of family lives.
Now he hopes to become a U.S. senator for the state of Georgia.
That won鈥檛 be easy.
He鈥檚 having a series of problems trying to convince some potential voters to take him seriously.
Also, when he speaks 鈥� word salad.
On the subject of gun violence, for instance, he waxed philosophically in ways nobody had ever waxed philosophically before. Something about disinformation: 鈥淲hat we need to do is look into how we can stop those things. What about getting a department that can look at young men that鈥檚 looking at women that鈥檚 looking at their social media.鈥�
Georgia鈥檚 race for the U.S. Senate could be key in determining if Democrats or Republicans will take control.
So, whatever Mr. Walker, or his opponent, incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock, says or does can be of great importance.
Enter the Daily Beast, which reported last week that Mr. Walker, a staunch opponent of abortions under any circumstance, paid a woman to have an abortion in September 2009.
That story was accompanied by the woman鈥檚 $575 receipt she claims came from the abortion clinic.
If true, it proves Walker is a garden variety hypocrite. If false, it鈥檚 about low-grade political skullduggery.
This isn鈥檛 about either.
It鈥檚 about the fallout from it.
Walker immediately ran for cover. He appeared that evening on Fox News, with Sean Hannity giving him every chance to refute the story.
Walker denied even knowing the woman.
But Walker鈥檚 23-year-old son wouldn鈥檛 have any of it.
He called out his father as if he knows the truth behind the story.
鈥淓very family member of Herschel Walker asked him not to run for office because we all knew (some of) his past. Every single one,鈥� said Christian Walker, as part of several highly emotional videos he posted online.
It was the kind of one-day story that seems to pop up all of the time before elections.
Ex-president Donald Trump, while wearing his kingmaker hat, vigorously defended Walker.
He鈥檇 known Walker since the early 1980s when he owned the New Jersey Generals of the USFL, and Walker was his prized running back.
鈥淭hey are trying to destroy a man who has true greatness in his future, just as he had athletic greatness in his past,鈥� said Trump.
By the end of the day that report was published, many Republicans were rushing to defend Walker, verbally and financially, by helping to fill his campaign coffers.
That can be expected.
Republicans would prefer to avoid discussions about abortions when they have their eyes set on control of Congress.
The Walker story doesn鈥檛 help.
But they鈥檒l stand firm behind him if it means they can get what they want.
Yet, there鈥檚 a bit of nastiness that bubbled to the surface with the Walker abortion story.
Dana Loesch is a sharp-tongued former spokesperson for the National Rifle Association.
She鈥檚 now the host of a nationally syndicated radio show.
When she offered her opinion about the Walker story, she was one of those people whom they say 鈥渟aid the quiet part out loud.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 care if Herschel Walker paid to abort baby eagles, I want control of the Senate.鈥�
OK. That鈥檚 how she feels 鈥� about baby eagles, I suppose.
She may have stopped there. But the vitriol just felt too good for her.
鈥淚f the Daily Beast story is true, you鈥檙e telling me Walker used his money to reportedly pay some skank for an abortion. And Warnock wants to use all our monies to pay a whole bunch of skanks for abortions,鈥� she said proudly.
Well, there you have it.
According to some pro-lifers, people who have abortions are skanks.
It鈥檚 come to that.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 50-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.