IMHO, the HBO " Nine Innings from Ground Zero" clip of Dubya at the World Series georgewbush.com proves that, in spite of all the CBS/DNC charges of privilege, President Bush is first and foremost, a man of the people.
He went to the umpires locker room and immediately started signing the baseballs that were laid out on the table for him. He connected to the men there and later was open and warm to the suggestions of Derek Jeter that he should stand on the mound and not bounce the pitch.
On the field, he was thrilled and humbled with the reception. On the mound, he was a pitcher who did not want to be humiliated before Yankee fans...the stakes were higher than were he just a politician. He showed that he had the right stuff.
The contrast of wanna-be-a-man Kerry unexpectedly showing up in Boston, replacing and later ignoring the serviceman who was scheduled to be honored by throwing out the first pitch is telling.
Kerry probably did not go to a locker room. If he did, he probably was not genuinely interested in the individuals he found there. Therefore, there was no counterpart to Derek Jeter to take him under his wing and coach him. No one to care.
Standing forward of the mound, and bouncing the pitch, Kerry showed he could not make the transition from politician to common man...a pitcher under pressure to perform. Kerry could not be concerned with such mundane pastimes of the proletariat...being a man of privilege.
The libs would complain that Dubya had an advantage in that he had owned a baseball team and was familiar with the venue. I would counter that Bush is inherently comfortable in the company of strangers, regardless of the venue...a characteristic that Kerry has not cultivated as a man of privilege.
Could it be that, in his home town, they wanted to see this arrogant wind-surfer fail?
jj |
