The 1956 film noir classic, “The Harder They Fall,” is the story of down and out sportswriter Eddie Willis. He’s hired a mobster boxing promoter to represent a giant heavyweigh boxer named Toro Moreno who is billed as the greatest fighter on earth.

Unknown to the fighter and the world-at-large the so-called “world’s greatest,” has a glass jaw and a powder puff punch. All of Toro’s fights have been rigged. He has only fought palookas and bums. In each fight Toro’s opponents have been paid to lose, to take a dive.

The movie is based on the real story of Primo Carnera a prizefighter in the 1930s. Indeed, Carnera the man was a remarkable individual for the times at almost 6 ft 9 inches tall and weighing 265 pounds he was a Goliath. Yet he had never won a legitimate fight.

As the racket boys push “The world’s greatest,” toward the final championship match it turns out his grizzly, vengeful opponent refuses to take a dive.

In real life, Max Baer savagely beat Primo Carnera to a bloody mass of crippled flesh.

Baer went on the be the world champion while Carnera struggled to regain his life and reputation.

Someone once said, anything you want to know about life can be found in the movies. While I am not sure that is true I find, “The Harder They Fall,” an interesting, or at least fun metaphor for the current presidential race.

Barak Obama, an unknown who has never faced a real political foe, now finds himself in a death match with the grizzly John McCain. McCain may not be Max Baer and Obama may not be Primo Carnera but then again?

One thing is for sure. If Obama is knock out by McCain another movie allegory will be appropriate.

The film will be “The Godfather,” with Hillary Clinton in the role of Michael Corleone with a cameo by Bill Clinton as the wartime consilieri. The Clinton’s will go about the work of settling all family business. One can only imagine that Nancy Pelosi will sleep with the fishes while Jim Cleburne will be found bloody on the Capital steps. Of course, this is the way of Washington and to the Clinton’s it’s not personal it’s just business.