Balkinization: It's all Bud Selig's fault

It's all Bud Selig's fault

Commissioner of Baseball was the job that George W. Bush really wanted. Because Bud Selig, while owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, insisted on converting his position as interim baseball commissioner into permanent commissioner, he prevented George W. Bush from getting his dream job. As a result, Bush had to settle for second best, and it's clear his heart hasn't really been in it.

Had Selig stepped down, Commissioner Bush, a recovered "heavy drinker," would certainly have wanted to crack down on the merest hint of misuse of drugs by baseball players. And, as baseball commissioner, he wouldn't have invaded Iraq, legitimized torture and shredded the Constitution. And who knows, President Gore might served only one term and the Republicans might have kept control of Congress, so everybody's a winner.

Posted 9:04 AM by JB [link]

Comments:

I have always blamed Lawton Chiles for beating Jeb Bush in the 1994 Florida Governor election. Had Jeb been elected, he would have been the beneficiary of his father's network, and would have been the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2000 election. And he presumably would not have "invaded Iraq, legitimized torture, and shredded the Constitution." Not to mention lead the Republican party over a cliff.

# posted by

Chausovsky : 9:29 AM

Bush would've been a terrible commissioner. He failed at every business he ever ran. There's no way he would have taken any action against steroids. Heck, he had a bunch of users on the Texas team when he was the owner and claims, in his best Sgt. Schultz voice, that he saw nothing.

His authoritarian behavior would have provoked even worse labor problems than Selig did. On the specific issue of steroid use, assuming it reached the point where he couldn't hide from it, he'd have self-righteously blamed the players even more than Selig has done. The result of that would have been even less willingness by the Union to reach agreement on testing.

Bud Selig has been, hands down, the worst commissioner in baseball history. But Bush would've been worse.

# posted by

Mark Field : 10:40 AM

Woulda shoulda coulda.

# posted by

Occasional Observer : 10:49 AM

Major League Baseball would have become the Bush League?

George W became a cheerleader at prep school and at Yale perhaps because he could not hit the curveball.

But as President, George W relied upon the Curveball in invading Iraq. Oh yes, when years later officials reviewed the replays, it turned out that the mighty George W had struck out. But it was too late.

# posted by

Shag from Brookline : 10:57 AM

MF suggests Bush would have been a lousy commissioner. Not a risky bet, but life is a cost/benefit game anyway. Better he mess up "America's Pastime" (some suggest football is more popular) than America as a whole.

# posted by

Joe : 11:04 AM

...Really interesting blog （＾_＾）

Take care!

# posted by

Anonymous : 1:07 PM

Bush, as commissioner, would not have ended up as the worst commissioner in baseball history, though he'd certainly have been the most embarrassing. Without handlers and the public scrutiny of politics, Bush as commissioner would surely have quickly ended his tenure by being caught with Darryl Strawberry doing lines of coke with fifth-of-whiskey chasers. He might even have served as an object lesson to get the league to treat drug use seriously much sooner than it did.

# posted by

Unknown : 3:58 PM