One of the differences between the right and the left, you just made me realize, is how we treat heroes.
Kyle murders two protestors and he's a hero. He can fuck it up, but that's all it takes to get there.
If a left leaning person became a hero for rescuing cats out of a house fire, you'd have a hundred reporters digging up dirt about how he cuts in line at Starbucks, or an ex coworker thought his obsession with cute animal butts was a little creepy.
I'm minimizing. People who do good things sometimes have done real shit but I don't want to sidetrack. Point is, the right elevates their heroes while the left humanizes them. It's not just a different playing field, it's a whole other sport.
Stretching a lead is a sports term. Most commonly in racing. Sports metaphors are common in politics.