Wednesday, October 24, 2007
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Rudy's Red Sox Faux Pas
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Posted by:
Matt Lewis at
9:06 AM
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According to his detractors, Rudy Giuliani may be a pro-choice, pro-sanctuary city, gun-grabbing liberal Republican.
... But now he's really crossed the line!
By saying he's rooting for the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, Rudy has angered the New York press -- and probably many Yankee fans, across the nation.
Of course, logically, his support of the BoSox isn't that strange. His beloved Yankees are out of contention anyway -- and if he's a fan of the American League East -- why not root for the guys he's been watching on TV all year? Right?
Wrong.
He forgot that emotion is more important in politics than logic. And to die hard fans, rooting for the Red Sox is tantamount to treason. He also forgot the political maxim which says: "You can't make friends of your enemies by making enemies of your friends."
... Of course, it strikes me as revealing that people are seemingly more outraged by his support of the Red Sox than at his policy positions. I mean, with all the serious stuff happening in the world, should a political canddiate's support of one baseball team over another be worthy of a front-page story (granted, these are tabloids)?
The truth is that this is almost a perfect news story; It's timely and also serves as a lighter diversion from the disturbingly serious news coming out of California.
It's also true that baseball is very important to a lot of people. This sort of reminds me of a story about Brooklyn and the Great Depression.
... According to the tale, during the Depression, a fellow went on the street and yelled, "down with America!," and nobody said anything. He screamed, "Impeach Hoover!," and nobody raised an eyebrow. He then said, "The Brooklyn Dodgers stink!" -- and was promptly punched in the nose.
Baseball matters, is my point ...
From a political standpoint, this also looks bad. Rudy has criticized Hillary for being both a Cubs fan and a Yankees fan. While this is hardly as opportunistic as Hillary's changing allegiances, it does open the door to charges of baseball hypocrisy ...
I wonder what George Will thinks ...
H/t: Marc Ambinder
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