Our vote: Coach Few for president

The current cupboard of presidential candidates would do well to put on their gym clothes and sneakers, shut up for a few minutes and listen to Coach.

With one of their strongest teams ever playing its best basketball of the season, Gonzaga fell in the not so Sweet 16 to Syracuse. To its credit, Syracuse outscored Gonzaga 15-3 to end the game, pulling out a come-from-behind 63-60 victory.

But that victory was aided by a call that went against the Zags late in the game. That’s not a bitter fan’s perspective, either. The NCAA called Gonzaga Coach Mark Few afterward and admitted it had blown the call.

Presidential candidates, you listening? Because here’s where you all can improve.

Rather than ripping the NCAA, Coach Few praised the governing body by saying it was “big” of it to admit the error.

“It shows you, there’s so much luck and stuff involved,” he said. “There are all these factors, and people want to dive into this or that. But really, it’s just an unfortunate deal… But I think it’s probably good in our sport to say, ‘Hey, we screwed up.’”

Coach stood particularly tall when he added: “I didn’t make all the perfect calls in that game, either.”

In the game of life, acknowledging that mistakes will be made and then forgiving them really separates winners from losers. Taking into account one’s own culpability in less-than-ideal outcomes defines the true champions.

Our nation is desperate for truly effective leadership. It’s a pity that one of the most stirring examples of real leadership has to come from a basketball coach in Spokane, Wash.