Talkin' Baseball with the President

I just ran across this terrific interview by Hal Bodley of USA Today with President George W. Bush on baseball. The President still keeps up with what's going on in the game in spite of the fact he hasn't been actively involved with baseball since selling the Texas Rangers in 1994.

Perhaps what's more striking, however, is this comment the President made during the interview that was cited in Bodley's next column:

There's nothing President Bush would like better than taking in an occasional Nationals game at Washington's RFK Stadium, but it's not likely to happen.

The question was asked during our interview in the Oval Office last week.

"I'm mindful of the inconvenience a president causes when he goes to a game," he said. "I mean, we're talking magnetometers, and traffic jams. If I'm able to do so without being disruptive, I'd like to.

"There's nothing better than going to the game in person. On the other hand, I do have the tube, so I can watch. I truly am concerned about making it inconvenient for fans. When we shut down the traffic it's really a pain for the president to go blowing through."

It's really cool to see that the President puts the fans ahead of his own interests. I really respect that a lot.