It’s no secret that presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is a basketball fan. Illustrating that point, he told Jimmy Kimmel in the above video that, should he win the general election, he’ll have a basketball court installed in the White House.

Said Obama, who has already showed he could use some more practice when it comes to other athletic endeavors such as bowling: “I hear there’s a bowling alley and obviously that hasn’t gone too well. So we’re getting rid of the bowling alley and replacing it with a basketball court in the White House.”

That’s cool. I’d like to see him play the sitting president in a little one-on-one action.  

In other news, Obama — who (big surprise) won Al Gore’s endorsement Monday — said he would visit Iraq before November. According to the Associated Press, Obama told Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari he was encouraged by reductions in violence in Iraq, but, as president, he would move to end U.S. combat operations there. That’s nothing new, but with some more help from AP, let’s take a closer look at where Obama stands on Iraq vs. John McCain, his presumed Republican opponent.

Obama spoke out against invading Iraq from the start, calling it a “rash war” that would take away resources from the fight in Afghanistan. He has also opposed any increased troop deployments. His current plan would withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of next year, four months sooner than Obama’s previous commitment. Before that, he had said a timetable for complete withdrawal would be irresponsible without knowing what facts he’d face in office. Apparently, Obama’s pending visit is aimed at determining some of those facts firsthand. For more, go here. 

McCain, on the other hand, has a starkly different outlook on the issue. He supported President Bush’s decision to go to war, but he was an early critic of the manner in which the administration executed the battle plan. McCain opposes scheduling a troop withdrawal, pointing to the relative success of the recent “surge” strategy, which he backed. He’s also indicated a willingness to permanently keep U.S. peacekeeping forces in Iraq. For more, go here. 

Alas, no word here on what sport McCain favors, but if this running the country gig doesn’t work out for him, I’d pay to see the former North Vietnamese prisoner of war take on some of those “Survivor” wannabes on TV. 

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