OK, baseball nut that I am, I'm concerned about that as well, and also concerned that Barry Bonds will break Hank Aaron's record by juicing his body. Baseball's purity will outlast that, though. George Bush's purity will not. As Bill Conlin notes in the Philadelphia Daily News (I love it when sports columnists go political), George promised to fix the drug problems in sports in the SOTU:
You spoke with concern of the growing problem of drug abuse in the nation's schools and called for additional funding for increased testing programs. This is how you ended that appeal:
"To help children make right choices, they need good examples. Athletics play such an important role in our society, but, unfortunately, some in professional sports are not setting much of an example. The use of performance-enhancing drugs like steroids in baseball, football, and other sports is dangerous, and it sends the wrong message - that there are shortcuts to accomplishment, and that performance is more important than character. So tonight I call on team owners, union representatives, coaches and players to take the lead, to send the right signal, to get tough, and to get rid of steroids now."
You talked the talk, Mr. President. Now you must walk the walk.
. . .
You have a ton of concerns on your plate, Mr. President, but this was important enough last January to be included in a State of the Union Address. It is even more important today, when clean athletes by the thousands look at the chemically enhanced cheaters blocking their path to competing on a level playing field.
Bless you, Bill Conlin, and welcome to Allspinzone!
