I was at opening day for the Nationals yesterday in their dismal loss to the Mets. The news that Dick Cheney was booed by the crowd is now well-reported, but a spin is emerging that the crowd, in booing, was showing its displeasure at his poor throw of the ball.
Nothing could be further from the truth. There were more than 40,000 fans at RFK Stadium yesterday. When Dick Cheney walked up to the plate, the crowd was booing in a low but clearly audible way. My friend sitting next to me said, "Wow, they're booing him. Who would have thought they would boo the vice president on opening day." This guy is a Republican, and he voted for Bush twice.
I think what few Cheney supporters there were in the crowd were shocked. There was no clapping for him that I could hear as Cheney walked to the mound. As he walked away, the booing was vibrant. The Cheney supporters had figured out what was going on, and in my section, I heard a little scattered applause, but the great mass of the 40,000 spectators were clearly in a foul mood toward the vice president.
Anyone who tells you differently is either a neo-con or wasn't there.
Update: A little note on Cheney's pitching. For a guy in his 60s with a heart-condition, Dick Cheney threw a perfectly respectable pitch. If the crowd had responded to his pitching (and not his politics), it would have been cheering.