Harkin to Culver: Congratulate the winners, console the losers

By James Q. Lynch

By James Q. Lynch

The Gazette

“Congratulate the winners and console the losers,” is Sen. Tom Harkin's advice for how Gov. Chet Culver should handle future statements about the state's collegiate sports teams.

Culver has drawn flack for congratulating the University of Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday for going 8-0 for the first time in school history, but failing to acknowledge Iowa State University's first win on the University of Nebraska's home turf since 1977.

Culver declared himself a “huge Clone fan” after being asked why he sent out a statement congratulating Iowa for their win Saturday, but not Iowa State, after both teams notched their historic wins.

Culver only acknowledged Iowa's win Saturday by issuing an official statement congratulating the Hawkeyes.

Harkin downplayed the criticism of Culver when asked about it this morning during a conference call with Iowa reporters

Laughing, Harkin called Culver's omission “one of those minor little slip-ups and you look back and say ‘woops. Woops.'”

“Come on, look, we're all proud of our teams in Iowa,” he said. “For crying out loud, I mean, the fact that Iowa now has something it hasn't done in its entire school history, what ISU did on Saturday at Nebraska, I mean, these are kind of nice things to savoir.”

As far as congratulating the winners and consoling the losers, Harkin said that applies only “if the losers are from Iowa.'

“If the losers are not Iowans, the heck with them,” he said. “They don't need consolation.”