By David Walsh:
Bush skips baseball’s opening day
3 April 2007
If George W. Bush’s unpopularity and isolation needed to be underscored, his decision not to throw out the ceremonial opening day ball of the major league baseball season served the purpose.
Bush spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore told the Washington Post that the president had been invited by the Washington Nationals baseball team to throw out the first ball at the afternoon game between the Nationals and the Florida Marlins at RFK Stadium, but “it’s not possible with his schedule.”
She elaborated, “He’s got various meetings during the day, a meeting earlier in the morning . . . It just wasn’t going to work out.”
With the president’s ratings languishing, the Post asked Lawrimore whether Bush “feared he’d get booed.”
“No,” she replied. “Certainly not.”
Most people over the age of 10 would be skeptical.
According to the White House, the president’s schedule included an 11 a.m. meeting on health savings accounts in the Roosevelt Room and at 2:35 p.m. the presentation of “the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the United States Naval Academy Football Team in the Rose Garden,” awarded to each season’s winner of the college football series among the various service academies.
Of all the recent US presidents, Bush is most closely identified with baseball, having served (profitably) as a part-owner of the Texas Rangers’ franchise from 1989 to 1994.
In remarks before a group of baseball Hall of Famers at the White House in 2004, Bush declared, “You know, I love the game of baseball. I grew up loving baseball.”
He also noted that “One of the traditions, of course, is for the president to throw out the opening pitch for baseball.”
The official White House web site has special pages devoted to baseball.
US daily The Daily Worker and integration of baseball: here.
*Dodging the boo birds* [a.k.a. Bush’s busy day]
Posted by: “hapi22” hapi22@earthlink.net robinsegg
Mon Apr 2, 2007 9:19 am (PST)
Is Bush such a testy little wimp he can’t take a few boos?
The subtitle to this news item could be “Bush’s ‘busy’ day.”
———————————————————-
**Dodging the boo birds**
/by Tim Grieve/
/Salon.com/
/April 2, 2007/
The Washington Nationals have their home opener at 1:05 p.m.
today, but George W. Bush WON’T BE THERE to throw out the first
pitch. Could it be that the White House wants to avoid a repeat of last
year’s home opener
—
the one where Dick Cheney was greeted with a LOUD chorus of boos even
before he bounced the first pitch?
No, of course not.
White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore tells the Washington Post
that Bush was invited to do the honors this year, but that “it’s not
possible with his schedule” because he’s got “various meetings during
the day, a meeting earlier in the morning. . . . It just wasn’t going to
work out.”
Ah, yes, we see.
The president’s schedule for today, courtesy of the White House
communications office:
*11 a.m., EDT:* The president participates in a Meeting on Health
Savings Accounts, The White House, Washington, DC.
*2:35 p.m., EDT:* The president presents the Commander-in-Chief’s
Trophy to the United States Naval Academy Football Team, The White
House, Washington, DC.
[NOTE FROM ME: Yes, a very busy day, today, for the very busy Bush
.]
Read this at:
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2007/04/02/pitch/index.html
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Well, let’s just say that dubya has not been to virtually any event in the past 7 year where the audience hasn’t been either military or strictly controlled by his rebubbacan handlers … actually, he did offer to attend if the opening day crowd was limited to those announced candidates for the rebubbacan residential nomination/annointment, rebubbacan members of Congress, and his campaign contributers, as well as military members supportive of his policies, and the vetted family members of the previously mentioned … however, none of those accepted invitations, expressing the desire to get as far away as possible … McCain felt safer going to Bagdad ! … actually, you’d think by now he’d be used to being booed !
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Ofcourse, President Bush has other important issues to look to.
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Re #3: Bush before 2007, when he was not yet that impopular, and presidents before him, also had “important issues” and still went to baseball.
Do you mean Bush’s issues in 2007, or now in 2009? In 2007 these might have been: presiding over the Iraq war, with over 4,000 US soldiers and over a million Iraqis killed; presiding over torture; over the causes of the present economic crisis; etc. In 2009, now, it may be preventing prosecution for that.
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Great opportunity provided by the Astros for the match lovers!!
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Blog provides great amount of information on concerts, sports & theatrical events in Houston, Which is good!!!
http://www.myticketin.com
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Thanks for giving this great post on baseball openings.
powerstrider
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Superb and great openings, really like it.
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