In one of the most exciting moments of last night's MLB All-Star Game, President Obama threw out the 1st pitch, the first President to do so at an ASG since Gerald Ford. It was a great moment for Obama supporters (and especially White Sox fans like myself). While his form wasn't great, he got it to the plate and didn't embarass himself as other's have done before.
It should be no surprise however that certain wingers flipped out. The jealousy just drips out of their voices and columns. Take Andy McCarthy, wanker du jour of the NRO. Never mind that his guy was a freaking cheerleader--you know, the masculine type that sits on the sidelines with pom-poms and yells things like 'Push 'em back, Push 'em back, Push 'em back team!' before kicking his arms and legs in the air...no, McCarthy fixates on whether Obama bounced his pitch at the plate. I feel slimy for doing so, but here is the link.
It is obvious that as crappy and petulant of a writer that McCarthy is, he knows even less about baseball. Let's go through his 'critique' of Obama's appearance and unmask all the wankerey. Just put your waders on...the shit runs deep through his eight paragraphs of lies, distortion, and ignorance.
First off, he accuses the sports press as being left wing. That is such an idiotic statement that I can't even begin to think how to refute it. Left wing ESPN, who got Limbaugh to do NFL Tonight before he imploded on himself in a fit of racism. More than anything the sports press is either apolitical or right wing...hell, half the radio stations that carry their local teams are the stations that are the home of the Limbaughs and the Hannities etc. The owner of the Texas Rangers--which of course Bush used to be a co-owner of-also owns Clear Channel, that notorious lefty outlet, and the game itself was on...wait for it...Fox!
Next he says that Obama was booed. McCarthy must have unbelievable hearing, because I didn't pick out any boos. Even if there were some catcalls, which there almost certainly were, the article he links to as proof that the sports media is in the tank for Obama contains this quote from Albert Pujols...the guy who actually caught the pitch:
"He took a couple warm-up tosses in the cage and then he went out there and had a perfect throw,'' Pujols said. "One of the things I told him was the only boos you hear are because of that jacket you're wearing.'
Hey Andy...I'm not a fancy journalist like yourself, but I'm pretty sure it is good form to, you know, read the freaking material you cite in your articles. This,sir, is what booing sounds like at a baseball game.
McCarthy claims that Pujols was only used to catch the 1st pitch since he is so popular--an attempt to keep the crowd from booing Obama. That, in a word, is horseshit. Catchers often catch the first pitch; many times they do not. If McCarthy had anything other than a passing acquaintence with the game he would know that. He would also know that pitchers routinely bounce pitches--quite deliberately. A curve in the dirt is an excellent pitch to get batters out with.
At the point of saying the obvious, so what if he bounced the pitch? The not-too-obvious subtext is that McCarthy is questioning Obama's manliness, which is hilarious for several hundred reasons, the least of which being that Obama is probably the most athletic President we have had in a while. Ever watch footage of his basketball games? He is good--very good. That bowling or baseball isn't his main sports doesn;t mean he couldn't wipe the floor with Bush or Cheney (ha!) or any right-wing politician who would try to go up against him. And again, so freaking what? We elected a President, not a left handed pitcher.
Andy McCarthy, wanker and baseball ignorant idiot of the day.