Now come the politicos to grandstand on the 409 page-Mitchell Report. Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Tom Davis (R-VA) have asked George Mitchell, Bud Selig and Donald Fehr to appear before their committee. The name of their committee is the House oversight and Government Reform committee. Last I heard, MLB wasn’t a part of the government. Hall of Fame pitcher and now Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) gave an interview to Reuters in which he said that players proven to have used performance-enhancing drugs should have their records expunged and be denied entrance into the Hall of Fame. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but isn’t there some tobacco subsidy he needs to see to?

And then we have George W. Bush, who formerly had an ownership interest in the Texas Rangers, pontificating from the Rose Garden: “The players and the owners must take the Mitchell report seriously.” Did W. volunteer to speak to Sen. Mitchell about what he knew and when he knew it when Canseco was juicing on his watch?

We have this horrible war in Iraq (and Afghanistan) which is costing America lives, treasure and standing in the world, and also costing the lives of innocent Iraqis and Afghanis. We have the mortgage and credit crisis which is putting over 1 million people in danger of losing their homes. Forty seven million Americans have no health insurance and another 20-25 million (including yours truly) are underinsured.

These are just some of the many serious issues our elected officials are charged with addressing. They should not be involved with the issue of performance-enhancing drugs beyond the issue of regulating such drugs for all Americans.

We are in danger of letting the Mitchell report distract us from more serious issues that need to be discussed, especially as the Presidential election campaigns heat up. There are some aspects of baseball’s drug problems that call for wider discussion, especially on what the baseball episode says about this country’s attitude toward drugs. But we really don’t need Congress or the White House getting into such issues as who belongs in the Hall of Fame.

ByrnesBlogger1

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