Steroids & Standards

 

Wayne Michael Winfield

 

 

 

George Bush has a pretty good arm.

At the 2001 World Series in Yankee Stadium, his ceremonial first pitch was a high hard one for a strike.

Still, no one would call it a major league arm.

According to reports, he doesn’t swing a major league bat, either.

Thanks to his dad’s money and influence, George was able to land a big job in politics.

Baseball, on the other hand, requires real ability. The closest Senior could get Junior to a big league ballfield was the owner’s box.

In retrospect, George was probably better off.

If he had made it to the Show, he might have been tempted to take steroids. If at some point he succumbed to the pressure, to the promise of bigger numbers and a bigger salary, it’s possible he would have been caught.

In which case George would have had to answer a lot of tough questions.

His every answer would have been dissected.

His every evasion would have been criticized, his every gesture would have been analyzed.

The story would have dominated the news for weeks.

Talk radio would have talked about nothing else. The tabloids would have had a field day:

BUSH-LEAGUE. W TOOK HGH. BUSH BUSTED.

The entire country would have been outraged and disgusted.

George might have even been hauled in front of Congress.

If he had lied, he might have been indicted for perjury.

If he had been convicted, he might have gone to jail.

Who needs that kind of aggravation?

In the White House, George was under a lot less scrutiny.

He could start a war on the basis of a lie.

He could appoint an attorney general who played fast and loose with the constitution.

He could arrest people without evidence and detain them without hope for a trial.

He could look the other way as a great American city was ravaged by a hurricane and devastated by indifference.

He could lower a nation’s standing and plunge it into a depression.

And not even his character was impeached.

Perhaps it’s unfair to hold the President of the United States to as high a standard as that of a baseball player.

After all, it’s not as if the President is expected to be a role model.