As Rome Burns, Bush Plays T-Ball

With Washington roiled yesterday by economic woes and bad news from Afghanistan, George W. Bush spent an hour watching 6- and 7-year-olds play T-ball, Dana Milbank notes in the Washington Post—the 95th sports-related event he's hosted as president, to 45 cabinet meetings. "For a president facing little good news at the office," Milbank writes, "sport is pleasure."

"The game must have looked familiar to Bush in these final months of his presidency: dropped balls, swings and misses, and players running every which way," Millbank continues, observing that the enthusiastic president arrived early, posed for photos, and handed out baseballs to the kids alongside a giant chipmunk mascot. A good warmup for last night's main event—dinner with professional ballplayers. (More George W. Bush stories.)