April 14, 2008, Sporting propositions
With baseball season upon us, I suggest the following:
Alan Greenspan is the Barry Bonds of the American economy.
Bill Clinton is the Alex Rodriguez of American politics.
Discuss.
Comments
[i]Bill Clinton is the Alex Rodriguez of American politics.[/i]
I don't follow baseball, but my take on Rodriguez is that he's an outstanding athelete and an otherwise decent human being who got caught cheating on his wife.
So I think calling Bill Clinton "the Alex Rodriguez of American politics", is an insult to A Rod - Clinton may not be as much of a criminal as George Bush, but it's impossible to be elected Governor of a state like Arkansas 5 times, and NOT be completely corrupt. I remember the "economic summit" Clinton arranged after the election in '92 - the message to big business was loud and clear - "come on down to Arkansas and make me an offer I can't refuse, because I am definitely for sale if you've got the money!"
The money must've flowed like a river because President "I feel your pain" Clinton worked hand in glove with the republicans to pass NAFTA - proving beyond any doubt that the democratic party doesn't give a rat's a$$ about the people it supposedly represents.
I think Bill Clinton is the Pete Rose, and George Bush is the Daryl Strawberry of politics - both of them have disgraced the "sport".
Posted by Robert at April 15, 2008 03:16 PM
I don't know, Robert... I agree with your assessment above and your analysis (though to be sure NAFTA itself is only a small part, and hardly the worst of it, of a rather remarkably pro-big-business government under Clinton), but not necessarily on your baseball players!
Pete Rose was an SOB to be sure, but a team player, and his teams won some championships (including the ONLY Phillies championship!). A-Rod seems to be a brilliant individual player who racks up great statistics and incredible money (A-Rod, $252million; Bill/Hill $109 million), while costing their teams dearly, be it the Dems and Congress (or the White House except for himself), or the Rangers/Mariners/Yankees any real shot at post-season victory.
And other than the drug abuse, I just don't see what George Bush and Strawberry have in common; Straw played on winners, and while erratic, had moments of greatness, and but for his drug and personal issues and if he could have strung together a few more years like his best, he would have been a shoo-in hall of fame player.
By contrast, Bush has yet to do anything worth a damn in his entire life, and the only "greatness" there has been the scale of his f***-ups.
Posted by the talking dog at April 15, 2008 04:24 PM
Well, like I said, I'm not into baseball and Strawberry was the only other player I could name off the top of my head who got banned from the sport for committing a crime - Bush's alleged coke use didn't even occur to me until you pointed it out.
Since I doubt that any pro ball players ever committed war crimes (at least on the scale W has), who would you say is baseball's equivalant to Bush?
Posted by Robert at April 15, 2008 10:49 PM
I would suggest Roger Clemens as the Bush equivalent. However, Bill Belichek leaps to mind as the sports equivalent of Bush.
Posted by Slugger at April 16, 2008 04:42 PM
For atrocities against humanity:
I would have to say the designer of the Houston Astros uniforms of the 1980s.
Posted by J.R. Richards at April 16, 2008 06:24 PM