Photo by AP Photo/Pablo Martinez MonsivaisU.S. President Barack Obama has been enjoying a surge of popularity after passing health care reform, finalizing a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia, and maintaining a 55% brackets approval rating. But that good will evaporated for some D.C. residents today when President Obama, taking the mound to throw out the first pitch to mark Opening Day, donned a White Sox cap.
Isn’t it enough that Phillies fans have flooded the ballpark, calling it “Citizens Bank Park-South” and wishing one another “Happy Halladay”? According to Twitter (on which “Nats Park” is a trending topic in D.C.), there are more Phillies jerseys than Nats in the house. Now the President is rubbing it in.
What the ballpark lacks in homegrown Nats fans, it makes up for with feverish media personalities. Garrett Graff tweets that he’s spotted Mary Cheney, Charles Krauthammer, and George Will. Apparently the climate-denialist desk is going unmanned today. CNN’s Wolf Blitzer sends along photos from his seats, while Republican strategist Rich Galen notes that Obama’s pitch was high and outside. I’m waiting to see how it compares to President Bush’s first pitch.
According to the pool report, Obama took the mound to a mix of boos and applause, which turned to boos from both Nats and Phillies fans alike when he put on his Sox cap. Obama chose to throw to third baseman and fan favorite Ryan Zimmerman. His pitch served as the 100th anniversary of the first presidential Opening Day pitch, thrown by President William Howard Taft back on April 14, 1910. (As it happens, on that day, the Washington Senators took down the Philadelphia Athletics, 3-0.)
During a video montage showing former Presidents throwing Opening Day pitches, Grover Cleveland got a warm reception. However, every other President was booed, which only goes to show that there are a lot of Philadelphia fans in the house today.
Luke Russert tweets that Mayor Adrian Fenty was greeted with boos. (Is anyone in the media working today?) Russert says it’s time for another picture with POTUS at Ben’s Chili Bowl. They could do it right there in Nationals Park!
