It was a lame pitch but it appears he (just barely) avoided bouncing it. Nothing beats the lameness of John Kerry's Fenway fiasco. That piece of crap throw cost him the presidency. Even Hillary (with the busted elblow) could throw better than John Kerry.
I guess this is what Presidents do, but it seems like a huge waste of money to have to Secret Service do a security check of the whole stadium and all the people attending the game, all the extra police, etc.
C'mon Ann. I am no Obama cultist, but this post deserves the "lameness" tag, not Obama's pitch. And in any event, I bet he could school Bush at basketball, which is 100x more of a real sport than baseball (11 fat, crotch-grabbing, unathletic pansies standing around for 4 hours).
This post is the Obama equivalent of all those idiotic lefties who flattered themselves endlessly by pretending that making fun of Bush43's laugh and smirk were the height of political discourse.
When I followed baseball, I used to consider throwing out the first pitch an annoying delay to the start of the game. I have a vague memory that the dignitary would sit in the stands and throw the ball a modest distance to the catcher. The catcher would then toss it over to pitcher, and the game would begin. When did this horrid practice of having the big shot stride to the mound in order to deliver a full wind up pitch begin? This will not end well. Those who now mock Obama should ponder the possibility that Huckabee or Gingrich might someday be called upon to participate in this humiliating spectacle.
"I, sincerely, cannot believe I dislike the first black president this much."
Man, I hear ya! The Repubs should have run a black by now, and I think it would have been an easy win. A conservative black president would give ME a thrill up my leg and would do great things for blacks and the non-blacks who don't trust them.
When I was in high school, the student body, which was 98% white, voted one of the few blacks in the school as homecoming queen. She was very well liked, but I know most voted for her because she was black.
There is a huge desire in whites to make that statement. I don't know if it will ever work again for the presidency.
Unfortunately, this President may cause people not trust a black President in the future. If he has been anything, it is untrustworthy...and he throws like a girl.
And in any event, I bet he could school Bush at basketball, which is 100x more of a real sport than baseball (11 fat, crotch-grabbing, unathletic pansies standing around for 4 hours).
Who gives a shit about sports and who is a better baseball/basketball President? How about the President govern with something close to sanity instead of the suicidal death spiral that we are in now.
In addition, what kind of stupid judgement does Obama have? Wearing a White Sox jacket in St Louis? Could he be any more tone deaf and insulting to the crowd? Golf cart guy should have refused to shake his hand. THAT would have been cool.
What a maroon. We are freaking doomed.
By all means. Let's worry about baseball instead of double digit inflation and double digit unemployment.
Who really cares. He is the rpesident, this is what they do. I would not have booed him. I would have clapped respectfully and that would have been it.
Seriously, if you really want to take a stand about something, read the 1018 pages of the house's health care bill.
Ah, just to correct the record, his toss while not hitting the ground did not make the plate. Pujols reached out in front to gather it just before it would have bounced in front of home plate. 58' 6" of a toss.
"I bet he could school Bush at basketball, which is 100x more of a real sport than baseball"
Even with Obama's height, age and 50% color advantage, I'm not so sure. Take a look at Bush's pitch on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=631knZM9Uiw
That's how a man throws. A man with basic athletic ability. Obama is clearly the star of "Erkle goes to Harvard"
(Placeholder for a thousand words of bafflegab involving depth of field and photo-editing software, somehow proving that Obama threw a perfect strike.)
"The Repubs should have run a black by now, and I think it would have been an easy win. A conservative black president would give ME a thrill up my leg and would do great things for blacks and the non-blacks who don't trust them."
There was a great movement in attempting to draft Colin Powell to run for president in both 1996 and 2000: he declined both opportunities. Had he chosen to run either time, I firmly believe that he would have been the nominee, or at the very least wound up as the VP as a 2nd place finisher.
As far as it being an easy general election run, that's not true at all. One only need look at Clarence Thomas and Condeleeza Rice to see how liberals treat black conservatives. "House negro" and "Uncle Tom" and "self-hating" and all sorts of other epithets are applied to blacks who dare think other than what their Leftist overlords determine is acceptable.
"It was a lame pitch but it appears he (just barely) avoided bouncing it."
It helps when the catcher is sitting on the plate and then reaches in front of the plate to snag the ball before it can hit the ground.
I know that I can't pitch for crap, but any non-crippled male should be able to make an overhand throw the required distance, which is all this ritual requires. Obama in his too-short WalMart Mommy jeans looked like the good he is.
That's how a man throws. A man with basic athletic ability.
This is one of the silliest arguments I've ever heard. Pedro Martinez is one of the 2-3 best pitchers of the last 30 years, routinuely pumping out mid-90's fastballs. Pedro Martinez weighs about 150 lbs and almost lost a fight to 80 year old Don Zimmer.
Baseball players rate just above golfers on the athletic side. Obama would toss Bush aside like a ragdoll and make him don his old Yalie cheerleader outfit.
Baseball players rate just above golfers on the athletic side. Obama would toss Bush aside like a ragdoll and make him don his old Yalie cheerleader outfit.
Never seen the arms on some of those guys have you?
As to your second point, it's a) unlikely and b) not all that impressive if it did happen since Obama is nearly half Bush's age.
If there were 11 fat, crotch-grabbing, unathletic pansies standing around instead of 9 then they were playing cricket and Obama was supposed to bounce it off the ground.
You know I don't support Obama's policies and would never vote for him, but there is something about hearing "the President of the United States" at a fun function like the All-Star Game and then seeing the man (and someday woman) in that office walk out and participate.
It brings a lump to my throat and makes me proud again - for a few moments at least - to be an American. And I just bet that most Americans - Democrat, Republican, left, right, or moderate - feels pretty much the same.
My mother was not a supporter of President Kennedy. But I remember her crying non-stop at his death and funeral and the overwhelming sadness she felt for his family. I hated Nixon, but my heart broke for him and his family when he resigned.
So put me down as a proud American conservative pussy if you want. But this government with its ridiculous partisans and often wrong-headed ideas is still the best damn one on earth.
Yeah, Obama is a real badass and a tremendous athlete. He warmed the bench for the Occidental jv basketball squad, after all.
Everything is relative my friend! Basketball players are better athletes than baseball players. Obama makes Bush cry uncle in a cage match of Presidents, but probably gets mauled by Gerald Ford.
I emphatically agree! I got the same feeling when they announced Obama and I can't stand his politics. I kid him here, but I hope he succeeds...by reversing all his policies.
I especially emote when watching the Bush pitch and realizing it was just after 9/11 and how we and those fans felt. It's been an interesting and often proud decade for me as an American. Our people voluntarily sacrifice for the world like no others.
Where is the nation anything like this one willing to spend treasure and blood to move the world forward toward increasing freedom and justice.
"Obama makes Bush cry uncle in a cage match of Presidents, but probably gets mauled by Gerald Ford."
I'd agree with you if it was a running or jumping competition. But in a cage match, strength is more important, and W has that over Obama. Also, toughness - absolutely essential in a cage match and Obama doesn't seem to have it.
Those who now mock Obama should ponder the possibility that Huckabee or Gingrich might someday be called upon to participate in this humiliating spectacle.
Also, toughness - absolutely essential in a cage match and Obama doesn't seem to have it.
Again, relative. Obama plays big boy sports, even now, like a game of basketball where it does get physical. Bush rides a bike with a cute little helmet and he used to be a cheerleader. Poking your chest out, is not what makes a man tough. I think your mixing bravado with toughness.
This is not the first time he's worn really weird jeans, either. We need a POTUS Pants Advisory System that warns him he looks dumb before he leaves the WH.
And Bush mountain bikes pretty vigorously by all accounts, he doesn't toodle around town in Mom Jeans. Your guy is not going to win any sort of macho contest, sorry.
And you guys can dish it out but sure can't take it. I love it.
A conservative black president would give ME a thrill up my leg and would do great things for blacks and the non-blacks who don't trust them.
You should go tell this to the Young Republicans, and Jim should school them on why throwing out terms like "coon" and "Obama in a noose" is not such a great way to banter on their Facebook message boards. Let's hope that, despite their moniker, they're not the future of the GOP.
echo Dale, but I wish Obama had chosen different pants.
Agreed! The JCPenny jeans seem to be one of these bs poliical fashion decisions (Bush's fighter suit, Gore's earth tones) that utlimately just make you look dumb and are transparent. Get Obama to a Banana Republic or at least the GAP and call it day.
You know, I've heard more about Obama's opening pitch than I have about who won.
To be fair to Obama, his pitch wasn't really out of form for a politician. That's the standard. Bush's right over the plate strike was the unusual one.
I doesn't really say much about either President either way.
Your guy is not going to win any sort of macho contest, sorry.
Bush is a cheerleader, for gods sake! Dennis Kucinich is even odds with him.
I've got a better question Mitt Romney or Sarah Palin? I think I'm taking Palin in that one. I'm no fan, but she does give the impression that she wouldn't mind throwing a haymaker Mitt's way.
Obama needs to buy Carhartt jeans, like AllenS. That way he could carry a hammer and maybe some pliers, screwdriver, pocket knife, and other important man stuff. Real men are judged by the amount of tools they own.
Yeah DustBunnyQueen. It is sooo tone deaf to wear a White Sox jacket. But not to joke about trying to find WMD under the table at a White House Correspondents dinner. That is Teh Awesome!
Are we really playing my president can beat up your president in here? Yeesh.
LOL Knox @ mom jeans. The POTUS Pants Advisory System should be expanded to advise Michelle, as well. They both can look so fantastic when they nail it, that they should not be allowed to go frumpy.
For the record, it is also pathetic for commenters to be yapping about whether the president is "macho" or not. WTF?
Yeah because "macho" worked so well for the last administration. They bankrupted us and got us into an illegal war. But they were MACHO...YEAH BABY YEAH.....
Obama is just one of those smartypants girlymen. Thinkin' is fer queers n' commies.
This post is the Obama equivalent of all those idiotic lefties who flattered themselves endlessly by pretending that making fun of Bush43's laugh and smirk were the height of political discourse.
No post on Althouse is like "all those idiotic lefties," since she is never idiotic. However, this clip doesn't hurt Obama a bit. He did fine. Another blog hyped this same clip as proof that Obama was booed. I could barely hear a few boos, and they seemed to emerge right around the time it was apparent he was not wearing a Cardinals jacket, which was a mistake.
100x more of a real sport than baseball? Oh, how macho! Good thing he doesn't have to really throw much. More like a tossing thing, huh?
Darcy, so good.
It's ridiculous for people to say hoops players are "better athletes" than baseball players. Do you think a 98-mph throw just pops out of your hand? Every muscle of your body is involved in making a pitch, and it all has to be coordinated perfectly for that pitch to be effective. And think about the importance of reaction times -- not just for batters, which is almost a supernatural skill, but for fielders. Some players can get by without a lot of speed -- which is what I guess the hoops advocates say when they brag about the superior athletics involved in their sport -- but if a baseball player isn't fast, it is a certainty that he has another out-of-sight skill, most likely either hitting for power or playing catcher, which is the most difficult position in any of the major sports and ruins your legs from hours and hours of crouching.
@bagoh20, re your 9:47 post. I watched what happened to Michael Steele in Maryland, and I worked on the campaign for a black Republican for county office back in the 80's. Child rapists would get better press from the liberal media than a black who dared, dared to leave the Democrat plantation and run as a fiscal conservative Republican.
And what exactly is wrong with being a girl anyway. Are they weak? Bad at sports? What sexist archetype are you getting at? Try to explain in full sentences and use your thesaurus if it helps.
For the record, it is also pathetic for commenters to be yapping about whether the president is "macho" or not. WTF?
/Raises hand
I'm having some fun at the yokles expenses, but its hilarious how sensitive the Right is to this kind of stuff. They are defintiely the kids who grew up arguing that my dad could beat up your dad. Ultimately who cares.
Anyways, Martin Van Buren would have both of their numbers.
Obama would toss Bush aside like a ragdoll and make him don his old Yalie cheerleader outfit.
You know I used to think those guys were pansies too until I realized getting slammed by 200lb+ defensive ends was not nearly as much fun as holding some hot blonde on my shoulders.
"I especially emote when watching the Bush pitch and realizing it was just after 9/11 and how we and those fans felt."
The part that so many forget about Bush throwing out that pitch is that he was literally taking his life in his hands (to the point of having to wear a bulletproof vest) in order to buck up a terrified nation and show us that we would not be cowed even in the face of such unspeakable horror.
You can say what you want about President Bush, but it was a singular act of courage and probably did as much to heal our national spirit as anything else done in the aftermath of 9/11. That he was able to throw a perfect strike even in such a moment was the exact tonic the country needed so very much that night.
If you love this country and haven't seen the documentary "Nine Innings From Ground Zero," then I encourage you to find a copy and watch it.
If you can watch it without your eyes welling up, then there's something seriously wrong with you.
I doubt there will ever be a more significant or moving presidential first pitch - at any game, any where that will compare.
Even if Obama strode out onto the mound in full uniform and threw a 100MPH fastball, it would still have been a pale shadow of that pitch.
@Invisible, you have no concept what you are talking about. Ted Williams, who was pretty good at it, rated hitting a thrown baseball as the hardest task in sports.
I can picture you at the plate when Mariano Rivera ws throwing heat. It's bringing a smile to my face.
How do we settle which is the hardest sport? How about a guy named Michael Jordan? I understand he was pretty good at basketball, may have made a shot or two playing in the NBA. Went to the White Sox AA farm club and couldn't get his average above .202
"Heh. You obviously never been mountain biking. In fact have you ever played any sport, save checkers maybe?"
I hear windsurfing is quite the rage with some politicians. Perhaps there's someone around who could give some lessons....If only I could remember his name...
I'm guessing Obama's daughters don't play baseball because he doesn't look like he's thrown a ball in awhile. He definitely short-armed that pitch.
George H.W. Bush played baseball in college and taught his kids how to throw a ball so W. was pretty good.
The Sox jacket was spot-on. When Obama was a U.S. Senator he threw out the first pitch at Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS and the Sox won that game and the rest of the games during the playoffs.
I don't agree with most of Obama's policies but his taste in baseball teams is impeccable.
Don't like the guy, no, not one little bit, but still I was charmed by the video. He looks like a happy kid after he gets it to the plate. What a lovely expression, probably the most genuine I've seen on his face.
I stand by my statement that basketball is more of a real sport than baseball. Yeah, batting is difficult. So is bowling a strike or solving a Rubik's Cube. If you can be big and fat and out of shape and still successful at something, it's more of a hobby than a real sport. At my high school, the baseball players were losers, while we soccer players scored all the hot chicks.
In any event, I only criticized this post because, as a lurker 99% of the time enjoying content for free, I respect Ann's perspective enormously. This post seems a little beneath her, comparing apples and oranges just to drive up traffic. How a president pitches means diddly squat. Leave this kind of insipid crap to the DailyKos, HuffPo, and other intellectual black holes that deal in superficialities and identity rather than substance.
This is such a schoolyard argument. So you are really good at that.....betcha can't catch 7 jacks at once!!!1!!! Betcha can't hit the tetherball THIS hard!!1!
Case closed. So there. Yo mamma. So what, chicken butt....go around the corner and lick it up. I'm rubber, yer glue...
1. Bush throws like a badass. 2. Bush struck a blow against terrorism with his badass post 9/11 pitch. 3. Cheerleading is badass (even though it is a sport for girls and girls are icky and can't pitch). 4. Bush is just badass. 5. Obama is not badass and probably plays chess. He is basically Steve Urkel. 6. Smart people suck and also windsurf like big sissies. 7. Wolverines!!!1!
I'm guessing Obama's daughters don't play baseball because he doesn't look like he's thrown a ball in awhile.
Probably not because Michelle said it was hard making ends meet paying for thier piano and ballet lessons so they probably couldn't swing the money for a baseball glove and little league dues.
That's also the reason Obama is wearing JC Penny jeans because Michelle blows the wardrobe budget on $600 sneakers and $4000 clutch purses. Hell I'm surprised Obama isn't shopping at Goodwill.
Aside from the fact that his jeans fit horribly (mom jeans), what's with the idea of even wearing jeans and athletic shoes in the first place? He's the president, and should dress accordingly. Once again, compare against Bush's pitch and see how he's dressed.
This entire thing about sports, baseball vs basketball is stupid. Who cares?
The President can make a token appearance at a ball game or pie eating contest and it doesn't mean jack in the big scheme of things if he doesn't understand how to govern, what economics are all about or how to deal with other governments. We need a President who cares about the Country, knows wtf he is doing and represents us forcefully in International arenas. I don't give a rat's behind how good or bad he is a throwing a stupid baseball.
Or how dumb he looks in "mom pants" (lol never heard that term before). Just like Michelle and how idiotic she looks in many of her outfits. If they want to dress like that, fine. Just quit trying to pretend that they look good or that it is some sort of ground breaking deal tha Obama or Bush can actually throw a baseball or that Michelle knows the handle end of a hoe from the working part or that Michelles Salvation Army rejects are fashion forward.... It is all some breathless op ed poser to try and distract us from the disintegration of the United States before our very eyes.
Get to work, damn it.... and fix the problems and quit playing dress up and playing at President.
"6. Smart people suck and also windsurf like big sissies."
Saying John Kerry sucks is different than saying smart people suck. Saying Barack Obama sucks is different than saying smart people suck. They're not the intellectual giants you seem to think they are.
If you can be big and fat and out of shape and still successful at something, it's more of a hobby than a real sport.
So it's an aesthetic thing for you. You don't like watching men play sports unless they could also be underwear models. Billy Beane, hero of "Moneyball," cites this as a problem that even baseball scouts succumb to. "He looks like a ballplayer" got lots of mediocre players signed to big contracts, and left a lot of talented but mishapen players out there for Billy to pick up for a song.
Babe Ruth, though he appeared fat, was actually a great athlete. Manny Ramirez appears fat because he deliberately wears a baggy uniform. He's actually a formidable athlete.
You can probably count the number of current major league players who are big and fat and out of shape and successful on one hand.
"Git to werk and fix the problems of Amurka!!! Or at least invade someone's country and look busy! Then I can put a patriofascist magnet on my SUV! Awesome!"
Yeah cause they aren't doing a damned thing but hanging out at the mall getting their pictures taken in dorky clothes.
Obama's miserable throw is important because he is a role model for America's youth. When I was a kid we had to pass a physical fitness test, part of which was throwing a softball for distance. I forget what the required distance was, but it was certainly more than 60'. Kids who couldn't pass were made into Soylent Green or something. Anyway, Obama's example may have just done to our kids' future physical fitness what he has so recently done to their economic future.
Also, Kerry gave windsurfing a bad name. When done in 40+ knot winds in the Columbia Gorge or in big waves it is a real sport and definitely not for sissies.
"You can probably count the number of current major league players who are big and fat and out of shape and successful on one hand."
Ditto linemen in the NFL. It's a common joke to laugh about the size of their gut, but I dare any athlete from any sport to line up every play for an entire professional football game and do what they do.
Basketball? Golf? Baseball? Hockey?
After being scraped off the turf by the medical team and their teeth replaced by an oral surgeon, I doubt many of them would care to repeat the first play that put them on their backs. Let alone try to get through 60 minutes of that kind of physical abuse.
Tiger Woods is probably a horrible basketball player and would probably run away screaming like a little girl facing down an NFL lineman, but no athlete from any other sport will ever be able to match his prowess at golf. Does that make him a better athlete? No. It just makes him a better golfer.
Ditto for the other comparisons being made here. (For example, the example given above of Michael Jordan's general ineptitude at baseball.)
holding some hot blonde on my shoulders. I don't believe Yale was co-ed when Bush was there. Perhaps they just made pyramids. Nothing gay about that, no sir.
IIRC, during the 2000 election, Bush was running five(?) 7 minute miles, Gore 7.5 /mile.
Who was the first pres to throw from the mound? GHWB?
I agree. It was the evident faux "manlihood" of being a faux sports enthusiast.
As DBQ alluded to, luckily we don't elect our presidents to be the captain of our sports team.
That being said, I don't think there's anything wrong with a discussion that doesn't revolve around matters of earth-shattering importance.
A little light-hearted sports-related "my guy is better than your guy" isn't harmful to the national discourse. Just as long as nobody tries to draw any parallels between their performance on the field of play to their performance in the office, then no harm no foul.
Yeah cause they aren't doing a damned thing but hanging out at the mall getting their pictures taken in dorky clothes. .
That's not true at all. They are working damn hard at bankrupting the country by tripling the national debt and spending even more money we don't have.
"We inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression so I'm going to fix it by miring the nation in so much debt that Chinese college students will openly laugh at my Treasury Secretary when he says not to worry about the full faith and credit of the dollar. But make no mistake. None of this is my fault. Yes I inherited a deficit so that means I can just grow it bigger. Hey look over there, squirrel!!
Hell by the time President Barely and his crew are done, we'll be lucky to afford a pair of JC Penny jeans.
We are very tolerant of gayness. We just like to needle conservatives with it because we know that it makes them feel uncomfortable as well as a strange tingling in their netherparts. If I could hire Bruno to land balls first on the face of every Republican, ala Eminem, just for shits and giggles, I totally would (okay - I never said I wasn't immature).
Look, I am going to stop trolling, er - commenting. I mix it up with the delightful folks over at Protein Wisdom sometimes. We absolutely loathe each other's politics, but we have fun inventing new insults for each others favorite politicians as well as discussing interesting literature, policy, and movies. I just thought I would try this site out since I make it a point to browse through it every couple of weeks for interesting posts.
Don't worry garage. The Hillary is waiting in the wings to descend and save us from the very junior senator from Illinois.
I can almost hear the Rocky theme music every time she's on TV. I mean Obama whooped her good in 2008but in a couple of years she'll be sprinting up the Capitol steps with thousands of cheering supporters right behind her giant behind, ready to carry her to the Oval Office. Can you see it garage? Can you? Hillary will be facing off with Obama who will by then have morphed into Clubber Lang. She'll have the eye of the Tigress! It will be a vicious campaign, Hillary will be standing on top!
"Yeah because "macho" worked so well for the last administration. They bankrupted us and got us into an illegal war."
Yea we fixed that alright. What do you call bankrupt times 4?
For all the dissing of this post, I'm getting a lot of laughs from it.
It's not like we can't take a break and play a little ball. But, it looks like some here don't want to play. Maybe you can bring a note from home to be excused from recess. You kids all gather over there in the corner and sing Barney songs.
Oh yea, my dad can beat your dad. My dog will eat yours, hell, my hamster will kick your cat's ass.
This reminds me of back in the days at the run up to the first Iraq war. I was commenting on AOL about it. AOL was the only game in town then.
I said something like: "Saddam Husein is a bully and where I grew up a bully eventually got humiliated by the bigger kids in the neighborhood. To control his abuse they would just corner him and kick his but. Problem solved."
They deleted my comment for "inappropriate language".
Bagoh20, last weekend I was trying to comment on a Cadillac owners forum about my wonderful but unreliable cooled seats, and it refused to post because I used "butt." Some people still have standards.
Hoosier, it was a joke. How dare you assume I'm a Democrat or liberal or heterosexual.
Actually, I once voted for 2 Democratic state/local judges because I knew them, and one was a cousin.
Michigan Wolverines a good football team??? Smoking the crack pipe no doubt, to say that about team that went 3-9 last season and has had more player defections than the KGB in the mid 80's.
They will be lucky to see 5 wins this year, given their rather tough schedule that includes Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Delaware State at home.
I've seen a lot worse first pitches than that, and at least he threw it from the mound. I also like that he stuck with wearing the Black Sox jacket, since that's the team he actually roots for. (I hate that team,, thus I call 'em the Black Sox...). Funny how the Althouse commenters suddenly want Obama to be PC about what jacket he wears.
Anyway, Bush was a baseball owner and has more experience at baseball than Obama. Still, Bush at first wanted to throw from in front of the mound until Derek Jeter advised him not to.
Obama got that overwith without doing TOO badly. I mean, he didn't look like a retard like he did when he bowled....
BTW, I think Bush is probably a much better all-around athlete than Obama. And Bush dosn't choke much. I've seen him make some terrific drives on the golf course when the cameras are on him, for example.
FYI-Michigan Wolverines are not a professional sports team. The are collegiate.
OK, back from NYC. Moved the rest of my stuff. The city was on fire the last couple of days.
Subletted my place. $6500 a month/not bad. Will pay my mortgage and condo fees-good. My subletter is a rich twink from Sri Lanka. Who knew? No, I would of not of done him. But the thugs were out in full force, yummmm. No cities thugs are hotter than NYC.
The runways (streets) were teaming with fabulousness.
What kind of idiot wears a jersey of another team to throw out a ball? That's just rude.
An idiot that retarded democrat voters put into the Office of the President. Also, if he wasn't the president and he wore that White Sox shirt, his ass would have been kicked by now.
"BTW, I think Bush is probably a much better all-around athlete than Obama. And Bush dosn't choke much. I've seen him make some terrific drives on the golf course when the cameras are on him, for example."
Agreed.
Much better all around human being too, not to mention a much better President.
@Paul, when there are trolls lurking about in the underbrush it is unwise to say something positive about George W. Bush.
You see the trolls keep pushing the meme that GWB is the worst president ever, while you and I are in agreement that he isn't even the worst president of the 21st century.
I suppose the Obamatons here are right that this isn't a very weighty subject; and conservative commenters are correct that there are much more important things to discuss.
But that girlish throw means something. There's a reason that the President throws out first pitches in baseball, and he doesn't toss up a basketball for the opening tip.
Baseball is a deeply American thing; it ties generations together, and bonds fathers to sons.
And President Erkle has apparently never thrown a baseball in his life. I can see a direct relationship between his girlie-throw and his disdain for America and her allies; between the fact that his father apparently never took him out for a game of catch, and the fact that he thinks the government should be a father to infantilized subjects.
"C'mon Ann. I am no Obama cultist, but this post deserves the "lameness" tag, not Obama's pitch. And in any event, I bet he could school Bush at basketball..."
Speaking of politicians and sports, who was the better basketball player, Obama or Sarah Palin?
If the answer is "Palin, 1982 Alaska State Champion", how come people associate Obama with basketball and Palin with beauty constests?
"At my high school, the baseball players were losers, while we soccer players scored all the hot chicks."
-Yes, but this conversation is about the President of the United States of AMERICA - what you did in the UK or Nigeria or wherever is largely irrelevant.
If the answer is "Palin, 1982 Alaska State Champion", how come people associate Obama with basketball and Palin with beauty constests?
Because Obama has kept up his love of being a basketball player while Sarah hasn't. And Sarah has kept up her love of being a beauty pagaent contestant.
However I do occasionally read garage majal's posts because, a) they are mercifully brief, and b) because I get a good LOL out of such a lonely, abject, and stupid fellow who is apparently and fantastically convinced of his own cleverness. It's just a bit of anthropology.
However the Jeremys of the world are like the commenter equivalent of Medusa....too hideously ugly to even glance upon without damage.
Oh come on you read them all and you know it. And isn't this supposed to be a performance art blog? Jeremy was too stupid to realize my post he objected to was snark.
And if Jeremy were viewing art somewhere of course he would be bumping into everyone, burping in their face and telling them to suck his cock. Like he does here.
Actually, Obama choked. If you have seen the videos of him playing basketball, he actually is not bad. A quick first step, reasonable fluidity for his age, a decent looking shot. So he does have some athletic ability.
But he was so afraid of making a bad pitch that he just pushed it up there. A very cautious "God, I don't want to miss" throw.
PJ said... Palin would burn it in there. It will be cool when the first woman Pres does it in 2525. Hell, I'd pay to see Palin and Obama go one-on-one on a basketball court. Yeah, Barry's tall, but 'Cuda's got sharp elbows. Good times.
People who don't play sports have wildly inflated notions how a women or women - would fare against a man or men who play the same sport. Basic massacre.
Ruydiaz- "Speaking of politicians and sports, who was the better basketball player, Obama or Sarah Palin?
If the answer is "Palin, 1982 Alaska State Champion", how come people associate Obama with basketball and Palin with beauty constests?"
In certain sports, the difference between male and female narrows, but basketball is not one of them. I suppose you could frame it as "Palin did better in female HS basketball than Obama did in male HS basketball.....Then again, Obama wasn't in school to be prepped to win basketball tourneys."
=============== bagoh20 - Obama is clearly the star of "Erkle goes to Harvard".
Loved that comment. You would think that if Obama was going to go to all the trouble and taxpayer and Algore frowned upon CO2-spewing to attend the All Star game....his handler's would have at least considered how he'd look. And seeing how girlyman-bad he looked, at least had Barry O go to his usual b-ball court to do some fast fixes to his throwing motion. (I had Turks with far more effeminate tosses than Obama throwing like real men in an hour..)
Memo to Obama's staff...if you have Obama doing any more sports stuff outside B-Ball, or doing any C-i-C "soldiering" photo-ops like shooting an M-16..VET THE GUY 1st!! Not cool if he fires one round and goes wide-eyed and starts rubbing his shoulder...and goes..."Ooooo! That was so loud! And my shoulder hurts! " Or tosses a girly-motion wounded duck football 10 yards to kids on the WhiteHouse lawn while his wife and daughters are throwing neat spirals...
Remember - while America is in rapid decline from mistakes that stretch back to Reagans supply side, dereg of Wall Street, and free trade with vast cheaper labor sources practices to your own and Dubya's massive bumbling - it helps if The People can see visual manifestations of the President doing something simple and that most guys can do. Doing it well. The baseball toss was not a confidence-building moment. DBQ is wrong, in that symbolic moments like that are important, in troubled times.
(See Jimmy Carter, beset by Soviet expansionism after the Democrats backstab of Vietnam, claiming he was very worried when his canoe was attacked by a rabbit.)
The baseball toss was not a confidence-building moment. DBQ is wrong, in that symbolic moments like that are important, in troubled times.
I've made some ridiculous comments in this thread for show, but that is THE dumbest arguments I've heard yet.
Confidence-building? At an All-star game that nobody watches? About how fast Obama's fastball is? Really?
You obviously have a lesser opinion of the American public than I do? And that's pretty low. I'm guessing your also one of those people who thought that Obama's Honest Tea craving portended doom for his chances in Iowa. I fear for your clients if you ever charge for political prognostication.
Great story about FDR throwing the first pitch in 1938 or so in DC where he recognized Moe Berg, a little known backup catcher, among the group of players.
All of the other players were stunned that the President knew Berg.
Well, that's because Berg was a spy for the government who had met FDR several times giving him information that he (Berg) had learned.
Berg was really a fascinating but weird person (he'd read 30-40 newspapers each day - all of the pages - but wouldn't allow anyone else to see the papers first. If they did, the paper was "dead" and he wouldn't read it).
Obama does have an amazingly bad arm for someone supposed to be an athlete. Occasionally, a left handed guy looks bad even when throwing okay, but Obama is far worse than that.
Other than throwing like a girl with a bad arm, I thought he did fine on the field and he was very likeable during his half inning in the play by play booth. He did acknowledge never playing organized baseball, which may help to explain that he never learned how to throw. If a guy did not learn how to throw as a kid, I think it is very hard to learn as an adult, although it would be less harmful to the country if Obama concentraed on that rather than cap and con, ruining the economy, and supporting terrorists.
Sports talk radio today made a bigger deal out of O's "Kaminsky Field" comments (it's been Comiskey Park for almost 100 years). That's almost like Kerry's favorite Red Sox player, "Manny Ortiz".
Fakes, both. But America only fell for the exotic, madrassa-educated, Ivy-League Hawaian black guy...
Paul: Much better all around human being too, not to mention a much better President.
Oh please. Obama is not a bad human being, especially when compared with other politicians. As far as Bush being a much better prez, I think the jury is still out on Bush's presidency and Obama is not even a year into his term so how can anyone say that (though I don't think either will go down as one of the greats)? And I'm someone who thinks history might be kinder to Bush than a lot of people realize (for example, this revolution stuff in Iran may very well be a domino effect of the toppling of Saddam's regime -- which I guess we're not allowed to mention or something).
But it is amazing to me that people act like all of our current troubles are Obama's fault, when these troubles began before he took office. I know my city's economy (Cleveland) was in collapse WELL BEFORE Obama took office.
Pastafarian: And President Erkle has apparently never thrown a baseball in his life. I can see a direct relationship between his girlie-throw and his disdain for America and her allies; between the fact that his father apparently never took him out for a game of catch, and the fact that he thinks the government should be a father to infantilized subjects.
Don't you mean Urkel?
Look, this is the kind of comment that is so typical on the Althouse blog, which is taken over by the hard right. Obama has disdain for America and its allies??? A much stronger case could be made that the previous administration had disdain for America and its allies. The previous administration is alleged, after all, with breaking not just the law but America's core values with torture. And the previous administration is the one that encouraged people to rename french fries as "freedom fries" to stick it to our oldest ally.
MLB video shows catcher's feet in front of home plate and still reaching a couple feet out and down to pick up the ball out of the dust...there's a poof of dust that shows the grounder.
Media dons scuba gear.
Where's the Brazilian ass photo of this epic fail?
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১৭৪টি মন্তব্য:
His ears are too big too.
Jesus God that is one lame lefty. Girls would be embarassed to throw that poorly. Was that a happy rainbow he threw?
Was the crowd booing that nancy boy?
Why does he let his mommy, er, wife, dress him?
Bush should have stuck with baseball.
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the guy driving Stan Musial's golf cart did not vote for Obama
He could have shown up in a Cubs jacket. That would have won him a lot of votes in St. Louis.
He throws like a girl.
It was a lame pitch but it appears he (just barely) avoided bouncing it. Nothing beats the lameness of John Kerry's Fenway fiasco. That piece of crap throw cost him the presidency. Even Hillary (with the busted elblow) could throw better than John Kerry.
I, sincerely, cannot believe I dislike the first black president this much.
The Macho Response
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the guy driving Stan Musial's golf cart did not vote for Obama
Did you notice that too? He hardly looked at him when Obama reached over to shake his hand.
While I do not like our current President, I would not boo him simply for throwing the first pitch....that is what President's get to do.
However, this Twins fan would boo his White Sox jacket....that is what baseball fans get to do.
I don't know why this makes me giggle like crazy. I feel kind of petty about it, but shit, there I go again...giggling.
And he looks ridiculous in the jacket. Okay, now I really am being petty.
And I love the golf cart guy!
I guess this is what Presidents do, but it seems like a huge waste of money to have to Secret Service do a security check of the whole stadium and all the people attending the game, all the extra police, etc.
C'mon Ann. I am no Obama cultist, but this post deserves the "lameness" tag, not Obama's pitch. And in any event, I bet he could school Bush at basketball, which is 100x more of a real sport than baseball (11 fat, crotch-grabbing, unathletic pansies standing around for 4 hours).
This post is the Obama equivalent of all those idiotic lefties who flattered themselves endlessly by pretending that making fun of Bush43's laugh and smirk were the height of political discourse.
Maybe the golf cart driver was Secret Service and the President didn't realize it.
I'm pretty sure I would have bounced the throw to the plate out of sheer nervousness. At least Zero got it there on the fly. Gotta give credit.
100x more of a real sport than baseball? Oh, how macho! Good thing he doesn't have to really throw much.
More like a tossing thing, huh?
When I followed baseball, I used to consider throwing out the first pitch an annoying delay to the start of the game. I have a vague memory that the dignitary would sit in the stands and throw the ball a modest distance to the catcher. The catcher would then toss it over to pitcher, and the game would begin. When did this horrid practice of having the big shot stride to the mound in order to deliver a full wind up pitch begin? This will not end well. Those who now mock Obama should ponder the possibility that Huckabee or Gingrich might someday be called upon to participate in this humiliating spectacle.
"I, sincerely, cannot believe I dislike the first black president this much."
Man, I hear ya! The Repubs should have run a black by now, and I think it would have been an easy win. A conservative black president would give ME a thrill up my leg and would do great things for blacks and the non-blacks who don't trust them.
When I was in high school, the student body, which was 98% white, voted one of the few blacks in the school as homecoming queen. She was very well liked, but I know most voted for her because she was black.
There is a huge desire in whites to make that statement. I don't know if it will ever work again for the presidency.
Unfortunately, this President may cause people not trust a black President in the future. If he has been anything, it is untrustworthy...and he throws like a girl.
And in any event, I bet he could school Bush at basketball, which is 100x more of a real sport than baseball (11 fat, crotch-grabbing, unathletic pansies standing around for 4 hours).
Who gives a shit about sports and who is a better baseball/basketball President? How about the President govern with something close to sanity instead of the suicidal death spiral that we are in now.
In addition, what kind of stupid judgement does Obama have? Wearing a White Sox jacket in St Louis? Could he be any more tone deaf and insulting to the crowd? Golf cart guy should have refused to shake his hand. THAT would have been cool.
What a maroon. We are freaking doomed.
By all means. Let's worry about baseball instead of double digit inflation and double digit unemployment.
Could he be any more tone deaf and insulting to the crowd?
Well, he could have worn a Cubs jacket...
Did FDR ever have to do this?
Palin would burn it in there. It will be cool when the first woman Pres does it in 2525.
Obama's good at throwing a lot of money around. Print it, and he shall throw.
Who really cares. He is the rpesident, this is what they do. I would not have booed him. I would have clapped respectfully and that would have been it.
Seriously, if you really want to take a stand about something, read the 1018 pages of the house's health care bill.
Could he be any more tone deaf and insulting.........
It's an American audience so who cares.......
Did FDR ever have to do this?
FDR
Ah, just to correct the record, his toss while not hitting the ground did not make the plate. Pujols reached out in front to gather it just before it would have bounced in front of home plate. 58' 6" of a toss.
"I bet he could school Bush at basketball, which is 100x more of a real sport than baseball"
Even with Obama's height, age and 50% color advantage, I'm not so sure. Take a look at Bush's pitch on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=631knZM9Uiw
That's how a man throws. A man with basic athletic ability. Obama is clearly the star of "Erkle goes to Harvard"
What I really don't get is those Mom Jeans he's wearing.
this post deserves the "lameness" tag, not Obama's pitch. And in any event, I bet he could school Bush at basketball...
LOL
(Placeholder for a thousand words of bafflegab involving depth of field and photo-editing software, somehow proving that Obama threw a perfect strike.)
"(11 fat, crotch-grabbing, unathletic pansies standing around for 4 hours)."
Sounds like you know a lot about sports.
Palin would burn it in there. It will be cool when the first woman Pres does it in 2525.
Hell, I'd pay to see Palin and Obama go one-on-one on a basketball court. Yeah, Barry's tall, but 'Cuda's got sharp elbows. Good times.
bagoh20 -
"The Repubs should have run a black by now, and I think it would have been an easy win. A conservative black president would give ME a thrill up my leg and would do great things for blacks and the non-blacks who don't trust them."
There was a great movement in attempting to draft Colin Powell to run for president in both 1996 and 2000: he declined both opportunities. Had he chosen to run either time, I firmly believe that he would have been the nominee, or at the very least wound up as the VP as a 2nd place finisher.
As far as it being an easy general election run, that's not true at all. One only need look at Clarence Thomas and Condeleeza Rice to see how liberals treat black conservatives. "House negro" and "Uncle Tom" and "self-hating" and all sorts of other epithets are applied to blacks who dare think other than what their Leftist overlords determine is acceptable.
Who gives a damn?
"It was a lame pitch but it appears he (just barely) avoided bouncing it."
It helps when the catcher is sitting on the plate and then reaches in front of the plate to snag the ball before it can hit the ground.
I know that I can't pitch for crap, but any non-crippled male should be able to make an overhand throw the required distance, which is all this ritual requires. Obama in his too-short WalMart Mommy jeans looked like the good he is.
That's how a man throws. A man with basic athletic ability.
This is one of the silliest arguments I've ever heard. Pedro Martinez is one of the 2-3 best pitchers of the last 30 years, routinuely pumping out mid-90's fastballs. Pedro Martinez weighs about 150 lbs and almost lost a fight to 80 year old Don Zimmer.
Baseball players rate just above golfers on the athletic side. Obama would toss Bush aside like a ragdoll and make him don his old Yalie cheerleader outfit.
Bag..:
"Obama is clearly the star of "Erkle goes to Harvard"
LOL.
Can't get the grin off my face.
Post of the Month.
Baseball players rate just above golfers on the athletic side. Obama would toss Bush aside like a ragdoll and make him don his old Yalie cheerleader outfit.
Never seen the arms on some of those guys have you?
As to your second point, it's a) unlikely and b) not all that impressive if it did happen since Obama is nearly half Bush's age.
Invis,
I knew 80 year old Don Zimmer, Don was a friend of mine, Obama is no Don Zimmer.
If there were 11 fat, crotch-grabbing, unathletic pansies standing around instead of 9 then they were playing cricket and Obama was supposed to bounce it off the ground.
You know I don't support Obama's policies and would never vote for him, but there is something about hearing "the President of the United States" at a fun function like the All-Star Game and then seeing the man (and someday woman) in that office walk out and participate.
It brings a lump to my throat and makes me proud again - for a few moments at least - to be an American. And I just bet that most Americans - Democrat, Republican, left, right, or moderate - feels pretty much the same.
My mother was not a supporter of President Kennedy. But I remember her crying non-stop at his death and funeral and the overwhelming sadness she felt for his family. I hated Nixon, but my heart broke for him and his family when he resigned.
So put me down as a proud American conservative pussy if you want. But this government with its ridiculous partisans and often wrong-headed ideas is still the best damn one on earth.
"Obama would toss Bush aside like a ragdoll and make him don his old Yalie cheerleader outfit."
Yeah, Obama is a real badass and a tremendous athlete. He warmed the bench for the Occidental jv basketball squad, after all.
As best I can recall, this is the first recorded reference to Michelle giving Barack a compliment rather than a put-down.
did Obama go to the NBA all-star game?
He should enter a free throw (or half-court throw) contest.
Yeah, Obama is a real badass and a tremendous athlete. He warmed the bench for the Occidental jv basketball squad, after all.
Everything is relative my friend! Basketball players are better athletes than baseball players. Obama makes Bush cry uncle in a cage match of Presidents, but probably gets mauled by Gerald Ford.
Dale,
I emphatically agree! I got the same feeling when they announced Obama and I can't stand his politics. I kid him here, but I hope he succeeds...by reversing all his policies.
I especially emote when watching the Bush pitch and realizing it was just after 9/11 and how we and those fans felt. It's been an interesting and often proud decade for me as an American. Our people voluntarily sacrifice for the world like no others.
Where is the nation anything like this one willing to spend treasure and blood to move the world forward toward increasing freedom and justice.
echo Dale, but I wish Obama had chosen different pants.
"Obama makes Bush cry uncle in a cage match of Presidents, but probably gets mauled by Gerald Ford."
I'd agree with you if it was a running or jumping competition. But in a cage match, strength is more important, and W has that over Obama. Also, toughness - absolutely essential in a cage match and Obama doesn't seem to have it.
Those who now mock Obama should ponder the possibility that Huckabee or Gingrich might someday be called upon to participate in this humiliating spectacle.
Ha! You win.
Also, toughness - absolutely essential in a cage match and Obama doesn't seem to have it.
Again, relative. Obama plays big boy sports, even now, like a game of basketball where it does get physical. Bush rides a bike with a cute little helmet and he used to be a cheerleader. Poking your chest out, is not what makes a man tough. I think your mixing bravado with toughness.
This is not the first time he's worn really weird jeans, either. We need a POTUS Pants Advisory System that warns him he looks dumb before he leaves the WH.
Bush rides a bike with a cute little helmet...
You obviously haven't seen this.
And Bush mountain bikes pretty vigorously by all accounts, he doesn't toodle around town in Mom Jeans. Your guy is not going to win any sort of macho contest, sorry.
And you guys can dish it out but sure can't take it. I love it.
A conservative black president would give ME a thrill up my leg and would do great things for blacks and the non-blacks who don't trust them.
You should go tell this to the Young Republicans, and Jim should school them on why throwing out terms like "coon" and "Obama in a noose" is not such a great way to banter on their Facebook message boards. Let's hope that, despite their moniker, they're not the future of the GOP.
echo Dale, but I wish Obama had chosen different pants.
Agreed! The JCPenny jeans seem to be one of these bs poliical fashion decisions (Bush's fighter suit, Gore's earth tones) that utlimately just make you look dumb and are transparent. Get Obama to a Banana Republic or at least the GAP and call it day.
You know, I've heard more about Obama's opening pitch than I have about who won.
To be fair to Obama, his pitch wasn't really out of form for a politician. That's the standard. Bush's right over the plate strike was the unusual one.
I doesn't really say much about either President either way.
Your guy is not going to win any sort of macho contest, sorry.
Bush is a cheerleader, for gods sake! Dennis Kucinich is even odds with him.
I've got a better question Mitt Romney or Sarah Palin? I think I'm taking Palin in that one. I'm no fan, but she does give the impression that she wouldn't mind throwing a haymaker Mitt's way.
Obama needs to buy Carhartt jeans, like AllenS. That way he could carry a hammer and maybe some pliers, screwdriver, pocket knife, and other important man stuff. Real men are judged by the amount of tools they own.
Yeah DustBunnyQueen. It is sooo tone deaf to wear a White Sox jacket. But not to joke about trying to find WMD under the table at a White House Correspondents dinner. That is Teh Awesome!
Yep, Obama is the worst.
Obama will always look more comfortable in a suit; he takes on a cartoon appearance in play clothes.
Are we really playing my president can beat up your president in here? Yeesh.
LOL Knox @ mom jeans. The POTUS Pants Advisory System should be expanded to advise Michelle, as well. They both can look so fantastic when they nail it, that they should not be allowed to go frumpy.
For the record, it is also pathetic for commenters to be yapping about whether the president is "macho" or not. WTF?
Yeah because "macho" worked so well for the last administration. They bankrupted us and got us into an illegal war. But they were MACHO...YEAH BABY YEAH.....
Obama is just one of those smartypants girlymen. Thinkin' is fer queers n' commies.
"Again, relative. Obama plays big boy sports, even now, like a game of basketball where it does get physical."
Obama has the physical "big boy sports" toughness of a Bob Cousy. W is more akin to the unathletic prissiness of Mickey Mantle.
This post is the Obama equivalent of all those idiotic lefties who flattered themselves endlessly by pretending that making fun of Bush43's laugh and smirk were the height of political discourse.
No post on Althouse is like "all those idiotic lefties," since she is never idiotic. However, this clip doesn't hurt Obama a bit. He did fine. Another blog hyped this same clip as proof that Obama was booed. I could barely hear a few boos, and they seemed to emerge right around the time it was apparent he was not wearing a Cardinals jacket, which was a mistake.
100x more of a real sport than baseball? Oh, how macho! Good thing he doesn't have to really throw much.
More like a tossing thing, huh?
Darcy, so good.
It's ridiculous for people to say hoops players are "better athletes" than baseball players. Do you think a 98-mph throw just pops out of your hand? Every muscle of your body is involved in making a pitch, and it all has to be coordinated perfectly for that pitch to be effective. And think about the importance of reaction times -- not just for batters, which is almost a supernatural skill, but for fielders. Some players can get by without a lot of speed -- which is what I guess the hoops advocates say when they brag about the superior athletics involved in their sport -- but if a baseball player isn't fast, it is a certainty that he has another out-of-sight skill, most likely either hitting for power or playing catcher, which is the most difficult position in any of the major sports and ruins your legs from hours and hours of crouching.
You obviously haven't seen this.
It is impossible to look good when you're pulling your kids on your bike.
"Obama is just one of those smartypants girlymen."
It would be great if he was smart, but we just got the girly part. We would have gotten less girliness with the actual girl.
@bagoh20, re your 9:47 post. I watched what happened to Michael Steele in Maryland, and I worked on the campaign for a black Republican for county office back in the 80's. Child rapists would get better press from the liberal media than a black who dared, dared to leave the Democrat plantation and run as a fiscal conservative Republican.
Actually, Obama did bounce the ball (see here.
Good grief....what does it say about our media that they can't even get that right?!?!
the quietist said...
I bet he could school Bush at basketball, which is 100x more of a real sport than baseball
Sheesh, what a load of nonsense. The hardest thing to do in any sport is hit a baseball.
And what exactly is wrong with being a girl anyway. Are they weak? Bad at sports? What sexist archetype are you getting at? Try to explain in full sentences and use your thesaurus if it helps.
He was so tired.
For the record, it is also pathetic for commenters to be yapping about whether the president is "macho" or not. WTF?
/Raises hand
I'm having some fun at the yokles expenses, but its hilarious how sensitive the Right is to this kind of stuff. They are defintiely the kids who grew up arguing that my dad could beat up your dad. Ultimately who cares.
Anyways, Martin Van Buren would have both of their numbers.
Obama would toss Bush aside like a ragdoll and make him don his old Yalie cheerleader outfit.
You know I used to think those guys were pansies too until I realized getting slammed by 200lb+ defensive ends was not nearly as much fun as holding some hot blonde on my shoulders.
I'm having some fun at the yokles expenses, but its hilarious how sensitive the Right is to this kind of stuff.
Yeah, I forget how much of a model of maturity your side was eight years ago.
Hee hee....he said nuku-lar! what a maroon. har har.
Tool.
LOL @ invisible man.
"I especially emote when watching the Bush pitch and realizing it was just after 9/11 and how we and those fans felt."
The part that so many forget about Bush throwing out that pitch is that he was literally taking his life in his hands (to the point of having to wear a bulletproof vest) in order to buck up a terrified nation and show us that we would not be cowed even in the face of such unspeakable horror.
You can say what you want about President Bush, but it was a singular act of courage and probably did as much to heal our national spirit as anything else done in the aftermath of 9/11. That he was able to throw a perfect strike even in such a moment was the exact tonic the country needed so very much that night.
If you love this country and haven't seen the documentary "Nine Innings From Ground Zero," then I encourage you to find a copy and watch it.
If you can watch it without your eyes welling up, then there's something seriously wrong with you.
I doubt there will ever be a more significant or moving presidential first pitch - at any game, any where that will compare.
Even if Obama strode out onto the mound in full uniform and threw a 100MPH fastball, it would still have been a pale shadow of that pitch.
@Invisible, you have no concept what you are talking about. Ted Williams, who was pretty good at it, rated hitting a thrown baseball as the hardest task in sports.
I can picture you at the plate when Mariano Rivera ws throwing heat. It's bringing a smile to my face.
How do we settle which is the hardest sport? How about a guy named Michael Jordan? I understand he was pretty good at basketball, may have made a shot or two playing in the NBA. Went to the White Sox AA farm club and couldn't get his average above .202
Case closed.
Bush rides a bike with a cute little helmet and he used to be a cheerleader.
Heh. You obviously never been mountain biking. In fact have you ever played any sport, save checkers maybe?
But please do keep going.
Hoosier -
"Heh. You obviously never been mountain biking. In fact have you ever played any sport, save checkers maybe?"
I hear windsurfing is quite the rage with some politicians. Perhaps there's someone around who could give some lessons....If only I could remember his name...
That's rich, invisible man.
Heh. You obviously never been mountain biking. In fact have you ever played any sport, save checkers maybe?
Actually, I played as a CB on my high school squad (though I admittedly was good not great), but I do love checkers!
I'm guessing Obama's daughters don't play baseball because he doesn't look like he's thrown a ball in awhile. He definitely short-armed that pitch.
George H.W. Bush played baseball in college and taught his kids how to throw a ball so W. was pretty good.
The Sox jacket was spot-on. When Obama was a U.S. Senator he threw out the first pitch at Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS and the Sox won that game and the rest of the games during the playoffs.
I don't agree with most of Obama's policies but his taste in baseball teams is impeccable.
I hear windsurfing is quite the rage with some politicians. Perhaps there's someone around who could give some lessons....
Oooh, that buuurns!
Don't like the guy, no, not one little bit, but still I was charmed by the video. He looks like a happy kid after he gets it to the plate. What a lovely expression, probably the most genuine I've seen on his face.
I stand by my statement that basketball is more of a real sport than baseball. Yeah, batting is difficult. So is bowling a strike or solving a Rubik's Cube. If you can be big and fat and out of shape and still successful at something, it's more of a hobby than a real sport. At my high school, the baseball players were losers, while we soccer players scored all the hot chicks.
In any event, I only criticized this post because, as a lurker 99% of the time enjoying content for free, I respect Ann's perspective enormously. This post seems a little beneath her, comparing apples and oranges just to drive up traffic. How a president pitches means diddly squat. Leave this kind of insipid crap to the DailyKos, HuffPo, and other intellectual black holes that deal in superficialities and identity rather than substance.
This is such a schoolyard argument. So you are really good at that.....betcha can't catch 7 jacks at once!!!1!!! Betcha can't hit the tetherball THIS hard!!1!
Case closed. So there. Yo mamma. So what, chicken butt....go around the corner and lick it up. I'm rubber, yer glue...
Oh sorry. I got carried away.
Okay so just to wrap up few salient points here:
1. Bush throws like a badass.
2. Bush struck a blow against terrorism with his badass post 9/11 pitch.
3. Cheerleading is badass (even though it is a sport for girls and girls are icky and can't pitch).
4. Bush is just badass.
5. Obama is not badass and probably plays chess. He is basically Steve Urkel.
6. Smart people suck and also windsurf like big sissies.
7. Wolverines!!!1!
I'm guessing Obama's daughters don't play baseball because he doesn't look like he's thrown a ball in awhile.
Probably not because Michelle said it was hard making ends meet paying for thier piano and ballet lessons so they probably couldn't swing the money for a baseball glove and little league dues.
That's also the reason Obama is wearing JC Penny jeans because Michelle blows the wardrobe budget on $600 sneakers and $4000 clutch purses. Hell I'm surprised Obama isn't shopping at Goodwill.
Aside from the fact that his jeans fit horribly (mom jeans), what's with the idea of even wearing jeans and athletic shoes in the first place? He's the president, and should dress accordingly. Once again, compare against Bush's pitch and see how he's dressed.
Basketball may be more of a sport than baseball but you don't want a cage with a BB player.
Think about all the steroids and HGH that are used by BB players. Put Magic Johnson at his peak in a cage with the chemically enhanced Jose Canseco.
Who do think would be left standing?
Unfortunately, the NBA has some substance abuse standards. Baseball is full of better-living-through-chemistry freaks
This entire thing about sports, baseball vs basketball is stupid. Who cares?
The President can make a token appearance at a ball game or pie eating contest and it doesn't mean jack in the big scheme of things if he doesn't understand how to govern, what economics are all about or how to deal with other governments. We need a President who cares about the Country, knows wtf he is doing and represents us forcefully in International arenas. I don't give a rat's behind how good or bad he is a throwing a stupid baseball.
Or how dumb he looks in "mom pants" (lol never heard that term before). Just like Michelle and how idiotic she looks in many of her outfits. If they want to dress like that, fine. Just quit trying to pretend that they look good or that it is some sort of ground breaking deal tha Obama or Bush can actually throw a baseball or that Michelle knows the handle end of a hoe from the working part or that Michelles Salvation Army rejects are fashion forward.... It is all some breathless op ed poser to try and distract us from the disintegration of the United States before our very eyes.
Get to work, damn it.... and fix the problems and quit playing dress up and playing at President.
"6. Smart people suck and also windsurf like big sissies."
Saying John Kerry sucks is different than saying smart people suck. Saying Barack Obama sucks is different than saying smart people suck. They're not the intellectual giants you seem to think they are.
If you can be big and fat and out of shape and still successful at something, it's more of a hobby than a real sport.
So it's an aesthetic thing for you. You don't like watching men play sports unless they could also be underwear models. Billy Beane, hero of "Moneyball," cites this as a problem that even baseball scouts succumb to. "He looks like a ballplayer" got lots of mediocre players signed to big contracts, and left a lot of talented but mishapen players out there for Billy to pick up for a song.
Babe Ruth, though he appeared fat, was actually a great athlete. Manny Ramirez appears fat because he deliberately wears a baggy uniform. He's actually a formidable athlete.
You can probably count the number of current major league players who are big and fat and out of shape and successful on one hand.
"Git to werk and fix the problems of Amurka!!! Or at least invade someone's country and look busy! Then I can put a patriofascist magnet on my SUV! Awesome!"
Yeah cause they aren't doing a damned thing but hanging out at the mall getting their pictures taken in dorky clothes.
Not a damn thing - the lazy underachieving....
- not too bad of a pitch and he seemed to be enjoying himself
Diamondhead -
"Saying John Kerry sucks is different than saying smart people suck."
Bingo. It used to be the meme that Kerry was some kind of intellectual. In fact, he tried to ride that lie to the White House.
Right up until the point that his grades in college were released, and it was shown that his GPA was lower than Bush's.
For all the claims here that Bush was some kind of incompetent idiot, guess where that leaves Kerry?
Obama's miserable throw is important because he is a role model for America's youth. When I was a kid we had to pass a physical fitness test, part of which was throwing a softball for distance. I forget what the required distance was, but it was certainly more than 60'. Kids who couldn't pass were made into Soylent Green or something. Anyway, Obama's example may have just done to our kids' future physical fitness what he has so recently done to their economic future.
Also, Kerry gave windsurfing a bad name. When done in 40+ knot winds in the Columbia Gorge or in big waves it is a real sport and definitely not for sissies.
John:
Don't forget that every time George Bush threw a fastball, a terrorist died. Fucking awesome.
@Weezie, the Wolverines are pretty good. Glad to see that the state of Michigan has one decent professional football team at least.
But I doubt whether Barack Obama can play a decent game of chess. He doesn't come across as being able to see very many moves ahead.
John Stodder -
"You can probably count the number of current major league players who are big and fat and out of shape and successful on one hand."
Ditto linemen in the NFL. It's a common joke to laugh about the size of their gut, but I dare any athlete from any sport to line up every play for an entire professional football game and do what they do.
Basketball? Golf? Baseball? Hockey?
After being scraped off the turf by the medical team and their teeth replaced by an oral surgeon, I doubt many of them would care to repeat the first play that put them on their backs. Let alone try to get through 60 minutes of that kind of physical abuse.
Tiger Woods is probably a horrible basketball player and would probably run away screaming like a little girl facing down an NFL lineman, but no athlete from any other sport will ever be able to match his prowess at golf. Does that make him a better athlete? No. It just makes him a better golfer.
Ditto for the other comparisons being made here. (For example, the example given above of Michael Jordan's general ineptitude at baseball.)
What a fag.
Smilin' Jack:
That is hilarious. You win the "Think About Teh Children" award for today.
Congrats.
holding some hot blonde on my shoulders.
I don't believe Yale was co-ed when Bush was there. Perhaps they just made pyramids. Nothing gay about that, no sir.
IIRC, during the 2000 election, Bush was running five(?) 7 minute miles, Gore 7.5 /mile.
Who was the first pres to throw from the mound? GHWB?
Smilin Jack -
"Also, Kerry gave windsurfing a bad name."
I agree. It was the evident faux "manlihood" of being a faux sports enthusiast.
As DBQ alluded to, luckily we don't elect our presidents to be the captain of our sports team.
That being said, I don't think there's anything wrong with a discussion that doesn't revolve around matters of earth-shattering importance.
A little light-hearted sports-related "my guy is better than your guy" isn't harmful to the national discourse. Just as long as nobody tries to draw any parallels between their performance on the field of play to their performance in the office, then no harm no foul.
Yeah cause they aren't doing a damned thing but hanging out at the mall getting their pictures taken in dorky clothes.
.
That's not true at all. They are working damn hard at bankrupting the country by tripling the national debt and spending even more money we don't have.
"We inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression so I'm going to fix it by miring the nation in so much debt that Chinese college students will openly laugh at my Treasury Secretary when he says not to worry about the full faith and credit of the dollar. But make no mistake. None of this is my fault. Yes I inherited a deficit so that means I can just grow it bigger. Hey look over there, squirrel!!
Hell by the time President Barely and his crew are done, we'll be lucky to afford a pair of JC Penny jeans.
Ralph L -
According to Wikipedia, it was Clinton.
I don't believe Yale was co-ed when Bush was there. Perhaps they just made pyramids. Nothing gay about that, no sir.
Ralph you wouldn't happen to be a Democrat are you? Just wondering because I keep hearing about Dems being the tolerant kind toward the gay.
Jus wondering
We're so doomed. DOOMED.
We are very tolerant of gayness. We just like to needle conservatives with it because we know that it makes them feel uncomfortable as well as a strange tingling in their netherparts. If I could hire Bruno to land balls first on the face of every Republican, ala Eminem, just for shits and giggles, I totally would (okay - I never said I wasn't immature).
Look, I am going to stop trolling, er - commenting. I mix it up with the delightful folks over at Protein Wisdom sometimes. We absolutely loathe each other's politics, but we have fun inventing new insults for each others favorite politicians as well as discussing interesting literature, policy, and movies. I just thought I would try this site out since I make it a point to browse through it every couple of weeks for interesting posts.
Weezie wins the award for Highest Number of Petty Comments By Someone Who Chastises Everyone Else For Making Petty Comments.
Don't worry garage. The Hillary is waiting in the wings to descend and save us from the very junior senator from Illinois.
I can almost hear the Rocky theme music every time she's on TV. I mean Obama whooped her good in 2008but in a couple of years she'll be sprinting up the Capitol steps with thousands of cheering supporters right behind her giant behind, ready to carry her to the Oval Office. Can you see it garage? Can you? Hillary will be facing off with Obama who will by then have morphed into Clubber Lang. She'll have the eye of the Tigress! It will be a vicious campaign, Hillary will be standing on top!
Gonna fly now! Gonna fly now!
Weezie wins the award for Highest Number of Petty Comments By Someone Who Chastises Everyone Else For Making Petty Comments.
Weezie reminds me of somone who shall not be fed.
"Yeah because "macho" worked so well for the last administration. They bankrupted us and got us into an illegal war."
Yea we fixed that alright. What do you call bankrupt times 4?
For all the dissing of this post, I'm getting a lot of laughs from it.
It's not like we can't take a break and play a little ball. But, it looks like some here don't want to play. Maybe you can bring a note from home to be excused from recess. You kids all gather over there in the corner and sing Barney songs.
Oh yea, my dad can beat your dad. My dog will eat yours, hell, my hamster will kick your cat's ass.
Ralph you wouldn't happen to be a Democrat are you? Just wondering because I keep hearing about Dems being the tolerant kind toward the gay.
Liberals just get a free pass for some reason. Or, if not a pass, a very wimpy pitch.
This reminds me of back in the days at the run up to the first Iraq war. I was commenting on AOL about it. AOL was the only game in town then.
I said something like: "Saddam Husein is a bully and where I grew up a bully eventually got humiliated by the bigger kids in the neighborhood. To control his abuse they would just corner him and kick his but. Problem solved."
They deleted my comment for "inappropriate language".
Things sure have changed: Where is Titus?
my hamster will kick your cat's ass
I have seen hamsters bigger than kittens. Scary.
Here kitty, kitty . . . .
"Yeah, because 'macho' worked so well for the last administration."
I'll take 'macho' over abejct groveling any day.
Bagoh20, last weekend I was trying to comment on a Cadillac owners forum about my wonderful but unreliable cooled seats, and it refused to post because I used "butt." Some people still have standards.
Hoosier, it was a joke. How dare you assume I'm a Democrat or liberal or heterosexual.
Actually, I once voted for 2 Democratic state/local judges because I knew them, and one was a cousin.
Michigan Wolverines a good football team??? Smoking the crack pipe no doubt, to say that about team that went 3-9 last season and has had more player defections than the KGB in the mid 80's.
They will be lucky to see 5 wins this year, given their rather tough schedule that includes Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Delaware State at home.
Go Blow!
Baseball players rate just above golfers on the athletic side.
On the list of hottest athletes, Baseball players rank only below swimmers.
What kind of idiot wears a jersey of another team to throw out a ball? That's just rude.
http://www.breitbart.tv/white-sox-fan-obama-botches-name-of-commiskey-field-during-all-star-game-interview/
Reminds me of John Kerry's professed admiration for "Manny Ortez." Why do they even bother pretending?
I've seen a lot worse first pitches than that, and at least he threw it from the mound. I also like that he stuck with wearing the Black Sox jacket, since that's the team he actually roots for. (I hate that team,, thus I call 'em the Black Sox...). Funny how the Althouse commenters suddenly want Obama to be PC about what jacket he wears.
Anyway, Bush was a baseball owner and has more experience at baseball than Obama. Still, Bush at first wanted to throw from in front of the mound until Derek Jeter advised him not to.
Obama got that overwith without doing TOO badly. I mean, he didn't look like a retard like he did when he bowled....
BTW, I think Bush is probably a much better all-around athlete than Obama. And Bush dosn't choke much. I've seen him make some terrific drives on the golf course when the cameras are on him, for example.
Hey, it was a lot better than Nancy Reagan's pitch in 1988. Video.
And look at how awful this first pitch was by a mayor of Cincy. See, Obama can feel relieved.
Obama could so kick Nancy Reagan's ass.
FYI-Michigan Wolverines are not a professional sports team. The are collegiate.
OK, back from NYC. Moved the rest of my stuff. The city was on fire the last couple of days.
Subletted my place. $6500 a month/not bad. Will pay my mortgage and condo fees-good. My subletter is a rich twink from Sri Lanka. Who knew? No, I would of not of done him. But the thugs were out in full force, yummmm. No cities thugs are hotter than NYC.
The runways (streets) were teaming with fabulousness.
Shanna said...
What kind of idiot wears a jersey of another team to throw out a ball? That's just rude.
An idiot that retarded democrat voters put into the Office of the President. Also, if he wasn't the president and he wore that White Sox shirt, his ass would have been kicked by now.
Maguro said...
Obama could so kick Nancy Reagan's ass.
So could a flight of stairs or a sidewalk.
"BTW, I think Bush is probably a much better all-around athlete than Obama. And Bush dosn't choke much. I've seen him make some terrific drives on the golf course when the cameras are on him, for example."
Agreed.
Much better all around human being too, not to mention a much better President.
The Crack Emcee said..."I, sincerely, cannot believe I dislike the first black president this much."
I'm sure if he knew, it would bother the living fuck out of him.
Stick to crack, Emcee.
Much better all around human being too, not to mention a much better President.
Well now! You just invalidated your whole argument with the second part.
In contrast, Bush was dignified, business-like, and took as little time as possible, understanding that people were actually there to watch baseball.
Or maybe he was just rushing in hopes that the crowd didn't begin throwing stadium equipment at him.
"What kind of idiot wears a jersey of another team to throw out a ball? That's just rude."
It was an All Star Game.
Which "other" team are you referring to?
The Cubs?
@Paul, when there are trolls lurking about in the underbrush it is unwise to say something positive about George W. Bush.
You see the trolls keep pushing the meme that GWB is the worst president ever, while you and I are in agreement that he isn't even the worst president of the 21st century.
I suppose the Obamatons here are right that this isn't a very weighty subject; and conservative commenters are correct that there are much more important things to discuss.
But that girlish throw means something. There's a reason that the President throws out first pitches in baseball, and he doesn't toss up a basketball for the opening tip.
Baseball is a deeply American thing; it ties generations together, and bonds fathers to sons.
And President Erkle has apparently never thrown a baseball in his life. I can see a direct relationship between his girlie-throw and his disdain for America and her allies; between the fact that his father apparently never took him out for a game of catch, and the fact that he thinks the government should be a father to infantilized subjects.
Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine, Bitch & Whine...
Boo-Fucking-Hoo.
"Or maybe he was just rushing in hopes that the crowd didn't begin throwing stadium equipment at him."
Good call. I'm sure he was worried about that one month after 9/11, when his approval ratings were around 90%.
It will take generations to determine what kind of President George Bush was. Obama? We already know!
From the quietist above:
"C'mon Ann. I am no Obama cultist, but this post deserves the "lameness" tag, not Obama's pitch. And in any event, I bet he could school Bush at basketball..."
Speaking of politicians and sports, who was the better basketball player, Obama or Sarah Palin?
If the answer is "Palin, 1982 Alaska State Champion", how come people associate Obama with basketball and Palin with beauty constests?
garage mahal said..."It will take generations to determine what kind of President George Bush was. Obama? We already know!"
You and that little bitty prick you're holding in your hand?
D-u-h...
"At my high school, the baseball players were losers, while we soccer players scored all the hot chicks."
-Yes, but this conversation is about the President of the United States of AMERICA - what you did in the UK or Nigeria or wherever is largely irrelevant.
They're not chanting Je-re-my! Je-re-my!
They're chanting Cock-su-cker! Cock-su-cker!
If the answer is "Palin, 1982 Alaska State Champion", how come people associate Obama with basketball and Palin with beauty constests?
Because Obama has kept up his love of being a basketball player while Sarah hasn't. And Sarah has kept up her love of being a beauty pagaent contestant.
Its science.
LOL
In Jeremy's rush to issue childish insults to everyone on the board, he even took after garage who's pretty much always on the same side.
Talk about your friendly fire incident....
garage mahal - People are chanting?
Have you told your little friend?
Jimmy - HI!
Fuck off, little man.
Baseball is a deeply American thing; it ties generations together, and bonds fathers to sons.
Its so American that more Americans play basketball and football. Baseball is also for fascists!
FYI-Michigan Wolverines are not a professional sports team.
Neither are the Lions.
Hi Big Mike,
I have a technique for dealing with trolls.
SOB(scroll on by).
However I do occasionally read garage majal's posts because, a) they are mercifully brief, and b) because I get a good LOL out of such a lonely, abject, and stupid fellow who is apparently and fantastically convinced of his own cleverness. It's just a bit of anthropology.
However the Jeremys of the world are like the commenter equivalent of Medusa....too hideously ugly to even glance upon without damage.
Talk about your friendly fire incident....
I don't have any friends.
There is nothing lamer than saying "duh" Are you freaking 8 yrs old. You put that in every other comment. You suck.
D-U-H
However I do occasionally read garage majal's
Oh come on you read them all and you know it. And isn't this supposed to be a performance art blog? Jeremy was too stupid to realize my post he objected to was snark.
And if Jeremy were viewing art somewhere of course he would be bumping into everyone, burping in their face and telling them to suck his cock. Like he does here.
I don't have any friends.
Now that's sad. C'mon. I'll be your friend. We'll go get a couple beers; I'll pay. All you have to do is once in a while vote Republi ...
No, huh.
No I do not read them all and I do not even visit this blog all the time like you do. I have a life after all.
Actually, Obama choked. If you have seen the videos of him playing basketball, he actually is not bad. A quick first step, reasonable fluidity for his age, a decent looking shot. So he does have some athletic ability.
But he was so afraid of making a bad pitch that he just pushed it up there. A very cautious "God, I don't want to miss" throw.
Our President is a choke artist. Help!
PJ said...
Palin would burn it in there. It will be cool when the first woman Pres does it in 2525.
Hell, I'd pay to see Palin and Obama go one-on-one on a basketball court. Yeah, Barry's tall, but 'Cuda's got sharp elbows. Good times.
People who don't play sports have wildly inflated notions how a women or women - would fare against a man or men who play the same sport. Basic massacre.
Ruydiaz- "Speaking of politicians and sports, who was the better basketball player, Obama or Sarah Palin?
If the answer is "Palin, 1982 Alaska State Champion", how come people associate Obama with basketball and Palin with beauty constests?"
In certain sports, the difference between male and female narrows, but basketball is not one of them. I suppose you could frame it as "Palin did better in female HS basketball than Obama did in male HS basketball.....Then again, Obama wasn't in school to be prepped to win basketball tourneys."
===============
bagoh20 - Obama is clearly the star of "Erkle goes to Harvard".
Loved that comment.
You would think that if Obama was going to go to all the trouble and taxpayer and Algore frowned upon CO2-spewing to attend the All Star game....his handler's would have at least considered how he'd look. And seeing how girlyman-bad he looked, at least had Barry O go to his usual b-ball court to do some fast fixes to his throwing motion. (I had Turks with far more effeminate tosses than Obama throwing like real men in an hour..)
Memo to Obama's staff...if you have Obama doing any more sports stuff outside B-Ball, or doing any C-i-C "soldiering" photo-ops like shooting an M-16..VET THE GUY 1st!!
Not cool if he fires one round and goes wide-eyed and starts rubbing his shoulder...and goes..."Ooooo! That was so loud! And my shoulder hurts! " Or tosses a girly-motion wounded duck football 10 yards to kids on the WhiteHouse lawn while his wife and daughters are throwing neat spirals...
Remember - while America is in rapid decline from mistakes that stretch back to Reagans supply side, dereg of Wall Street, and free trade with vast cheaper labor sources practices to your own and Dubya's massive bumbling - it helps if The People can see visual manifestations of the President doing something simple and that most guys can do. Doing it well. The baseball toss was not a confidence-building moment. DBQ is wrong, in that symbolic moments like that are important, in troubled times.
(See Jimmy Carter, beset by Soviet expansionism after the Democrats backstab of Vietnam, claiming he was very worried when his canoe was attacked by a rabbit.)
The baseball toss was not a confidence-building moment. DBQ is wrong, in that symbolic moments like that are important, in troubled times.
I've made some ridiculous comments in this thread for show, but that is THE dumbest arguments I've heard yet.
Confidence-building? At an All-star game that nobody watches? About how fast Obama's fastball is? Really?
You obviously have a lesser opinion of the American public than I do? And that's pretty low. I'm guessing your also one of those people who thought that Obama's Honest Tea craving portended doom for his chances in Iowa. I fear for your clients if you ever charge for political prognostication.
Now that's sad. C'mon. I'll be your friend. We'll go get a couple beers; I'll pay. All you have to do is once in a while vote Republi ....
Be glad to have a beer with you, I think you're in Mad right? Voting Repub? Maybe right after some beers.
@garage, nope. Nowhere near Madison.
Never thought you'd take me up on it. But if you're ever in Washington, DC ...
Specially if I can cadge a ride in your Merc.
Obama has been practicing a bit.
Two weeks, they held a picnic at the White House and there was a Dunk Tank for amusements.
The TV news showed Obama throwing underhanded at the target from about five feet away.
I saw that as evidence Obama could not throw.
Great story about FDR throwing the first pitch in 1938 or so in DC where he recognized Moe Berg, a little known backup catcher, among the group of players.
All of the other players were stunned that the President knew Berg.
Well, that's because Berg was a spy for the government who had met FDR several times giving him information that he (Berg) had learned.
Berg was really a fascinating but weird person (he'd read 30-40 newspapers each day - all of the pages - but wouldn't allow anyone else to see the papers first. If they did, the paper was "dead" and he wouldn't read it).
Allen @ 9:59 A slight correction:
Obama's good at throwing other people's money around.
Obama does have an amazingly bad arm for someone supposed to be an athlete. Occasionally, a left handed guy looks bad even when throwing okay, but Obama is far worse than that.
Other than throwing like a girl with a bad arm, I thought he did fine on the field and he was very likeable during his half inning in the play by play booth. He did acknowledge never playing organized baseball, which may help to explain that he never learned how to throw. If a guy did not learn how to throw as a kid, I think it is very hard to learn as an adult, although it would be less harmful to the country if Obama concentraed on that rather than cap and con, ruining the economy, and supporting terrorists.
@garage, nope. Nowhere near Madison.
Never thought you'd take me up on it. But if you're ever in Washington, DC ...
Specially if I can cadge a ride in your Merc..
Sure anytime. But you'd have to be here in Mad for a ride in the pimp mobile though.
Althouse has to put out the red meat posts like this one for her fans. I swore this shit off. I feel so much better.
I'm sure I'll fall off the wagon again, though. And when it happens, watch out!
"Obama would toss Bush aside like a ragdoll and make him don his old Yalie cheerleader outfit."
Uh... that would make Obama look manly? I don't think so. Wanting another man to dress up in a cheerleader outfit?
Sports talk radio today made a bigger deal out of O's "Kaminsky Field" comments (it's been Comiskey Park for almost 100 years). That's almost like Kerry's favorite Red Sox player, "Manny Ortiz".
Fakes, both. But America only fell for the exotic, madrassa-educated, Ivy-League Hawaian black guy...
Cincinnati Mayor - best opening day pitch.
Paul: Much better all around human being too, not to mention a much better President.
Oh please. Obama is not a bad human being, especially when compared with other politicians. As far as Bush being a much better prez, I think the jury is still out on Bush's presidency and Obama is not even a year into his term so how can anyone say that (though I don't think either will go down as one of the greats)? And I'm someone who thinks history might be kinder to Bush than a lot of people realize (for example, this revolution stuff in Iran may very well be a domino effect of the toppling of Saddam's regime -- which I guess we're not allowed to mention or something).
But it is amazing to me that people act like all of our current troubles are Obama's fault, when these troubles began before he took office. I know my city's economy (Cleveland) was in collapse WELL BEFORE Obama took office.
Pastafarian:
And President Erkle has apparently never thrown a baseball in his life. I can see a direct relationship between his girlie-throw and his disdain for America and her allies; between the fact that his father apparently never took him out for a game of catch, and the fact that he thinks the government should be a father to infantilized subjects.
Don't you mean Urkel?
Look, this is the kind of comment that is so typical on the Althouse blog, which is taken over by the hard right. Obama has disdain for America and its allies??? A much stronger case could be made that the previous administration had disdain for America and its allies. The previous administration is alleged, after all, with breaking not just the law but America's core values with torture. And the previous administration is the one that encouraged people to rename french fries as "freedom fries" to stick it to our oldest ally.
Pastafarian: Baseball is a deeply American thing; it ties generations together, and bonds fathers to sons.
George W. Bush was a baseball owner at the height of all the steroid abuse in baseball.
MLB video shows catcher's feet in front of home plate and still reaching a couple feet out and down to pick up the ball out of the dust...there's a poof of dust that shows the grounder.
Media dons scuba gear.
Where's the Brazilian ass photo of this epic fail?
Bush's World Series pitch was no fluke. He threw an even better one to open the Nationals' first season back in '05.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h-mjgstw_U&NR=1&feature=fvwp
I'm guessing your also one of those people who thought that Obama's Honest Tea craving portended doom for his chances in Iowa.
Honest Tea is the best! That’s one thing Obama and I agree on. Except they discontinued my favorite flavor, the Gold Rush Cinnamon.
Bush First Pitch, Obama First Pitch
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