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Pols Tread Carefully on Bonds
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ShareAugust 08, 2007 11:13 AM
ABC News' Rick Klein and Jennifer Duck Report: Say this about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: She knows her base.
Pelosi, D-Calif., on Wednesday became one of the few prominent political leaders to offer full-throated congratulations for Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger who broke the all-time home run record Tuesday night.
"Barry Bonds etched his name into baseball's history books and took his rightful place among the sport's immortals," Pelosi said. "It was a great night for baseball and a great night for San Francisco -- the crowd went wild."
Pelosi represents San Francisco in the House and is a Giants season-ticket holder. Bonds is viewed as a hero in the Bay Area, even while his achievement is marred elsewhere in the country by allegations of steroid use. (Pelosi, as it happens, will face a primary challenge next year from anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan -- no word yet on how Sheehan comes down on Bonds.)
Other politicians are treading much more carefully. President Bush, an avid baseball fan who once owned the Texas Rangers, offered congratulations through his spokesman -- but also let it be known that he didn't stay up to watch the game, and didn't call to offer congratulations personally.
"The home run record is one that has always captured the imaginations of sports fans and it obviously was an historic occasion," White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said Wednesday morning.
Asked by ABC's David Wright if the president didn't call Bonds because of the steroid issue, Snow responded: "No. He didn't call him."
"Right now there's a league-wide investigation going on into steroid use, and questions about Barry Bonds will be answered certainly in the fullness of time," Snow said. "The president does commend Major League Baseball, as well [as former] Senator [George] Mitchell for taking a good, hard look at a problem that needs to be taken a look at."
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., sidestepped a question at Tuesday night's presidential debate about whether he'd invite Bonds to the White House to celebrate his record-setting homer.
"First of all, he has still got to hit one more, and it has been taking a while," Obama said just hours before No. 756 landed in the seats at AT&T Park in San Francisco. "I had the opportunity to meet Hank Aaron just this past weekend. It reminded me of what sports should be, and that is something that young people can look up to.
"Now, Barry Bonds is a remarkable baseball player and I honor his achievement," Obama continued. "But I hope that all of us are focused on making sure that sports is something that kids can look up to, not something that they start feeling cynical about."
UPDATE: ABC News' Ann Compton reports that the president called Bonds around 1 pm ET Wednesday. Per an aide, Bush told him, "You've always been a great hitter and you broke a great record."
August 8, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (2)
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Barry Bonds is a druggie, a liar, a cheater, and a thief who has stolen the most coveted record in sports from the honorable man who earned it cleany--Henry Aaron!
Hammerin' Hank paid his dues in the Negro Leagues, only weighed about 175 lb, hit at least 30 homers/yr in 15 seasons, and faced the toughest pitching in baseball history.
The best defense Bonds can offer against press questions about his tainted achievement is to accuse them of "not knowing Jack [Squat] about baseball."
Posted by: carl | Aug 8, 2007 11:34:26 AM
If only people's comments were recorded back then when Hank Aaron broke the record, then we would've known how many among those who now claim to admire him felt.
Posted by: Doles | Aug 8, 2007 11:56:28 AM
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