Good Lord. God Lost!

Nebraska football rules Nebraska. Well, at least it use to. President Nixon came to Lincoln in 1971 to present the first national championship trophy to Coach Bob Devaney. The roar from the crowd led Nixon to say..."well you should run for office."

Devaney never did run for an office. The program was passed on to his fair-haired coach, Tom Osborne. Osborne had a bunch of chances to win the national championship but never got it done until the mid 1990's. After that, Nebraska was always in the hunt. So far, there are five national championship trophies in the Nebraska trophy room.

Tom Osborne, or as we call him TO, retired and went on to other things. He ran for Congress and won. TO started a mentoring program called Teammates which is spreading across the country. The university named the football field after him even though he didn't want that to happen. They named a new sports complex after TO and his wife Nancy. He wasn't big on that idea either.

TO is a soft-spoken man of faith. He has unquestioned moral character. He would be right up there with Boy's Town founder Father Flanigan, Johnny Carson, and Willa Cather for most admired Nebraskans. He had plans for one more big deal.

TO wanted to be Governor of Nebraska.

But there was already a Republican Governor named Dave Hinemann. Most Nebraskans were satisfied with the job Governor Dave was doing. After all, he went to Cuba and cut a nice deal to sell Nebraska grain and beans. He has cut taxes. Best of all, he is likeable and approachable. Governor Dave seems like, well Governor Dave. Nothing fancy. Nothing stuffy. Just Governor Dave.

I can only imagine the sinking feeling he had when he learned that TO was going to try to beat him in the primary. Some folks said it would be a landslide for TO.

But Governor Dave won. He beat a living legend.

There may be a lesson here that most folks might look past. Every politician running in Nebraska say they represent "Nebraska Values." On election day, Nebraska values voted. The message is loud and clear: If someone is doing a good job, there is no reason to fire him.

I am sorry that TO lost. But I would have been sadder if Governor Dave lost. He earned the right to stay Governor of Nebraska.