By Edwin Cooney
President Donald John Trump has done very little to rate even the mildest admiration from me since I first became aware of his existence about a decade ago. However, last Sunday night, October 20th, his decision to attend the fifth game of the World Series at Nationals Park compelled just a bit of, admiration and even a dab of respect from my cold Democratic leftist impeachment-driven otherwise "bleeding heart." Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that "Donnie Johnny" was brave, but one can't suggest that he was in any way a "coward" as he, just hours earlier, pronounced of another man who was facing certain death at his own hand. Fortunately, the President wasn't facing such a fate as was al-Baghdadi, but for the first time since he stood before Congress last January, President Trump was facing a crowd of people he hadn't selected.
What President Trump's appearance at the fifth game of the World Series does do, is to offer some perspective on what’s symbolic and what’s superficial about someone’s status, and brings to mind the fates of previous presidents at opening day, All-Star and World Series games over the years. Before sketching them for you, a word about the worst and the best one can say about anyone else. President Trump is pretty loose when it comes to name calling as have been many of our leaders over the years. President Reagan referred to the suicide bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon as "an act of cowardice." President George W. Bush called the criminals of 9/11 "cowards," which they clearly weren't if offering one's life for one's political or patriotic cause is what we claim it is every Memorial, Independence and Veterans' Day. To you and to me, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, represents the epitome of what's evil. However, evil and cowardice aren't the same thing. Even as the Nazi leaders of World War II Germany were wicked men, that doesn't mean that the average German soldier was wicked. (Perhaps members of the German SS were, but the average member of the Wehrmacht wasn't.) General Eisenhower, in the wake of victory, described the status of the average GI as, "an agent of his government." I'm not sure that's an adequate description either, however, how we ultimately view the acts of men, great and small, valiant and timid, good and bad, really and truly represents our degree of humanitarianism. Set against this background one is in a position to analyze President Trump's appearance at the fifth game of the World Series last week.
Presidents have been a bit of a side show at opening day All-Star and World Series games going back to opening day Thursday, April 14th, 1910. All of "Big Bill" Taft's six feet two inches and 330 pounds of him stood up to stretch during the seventh inning of that opening day game and baseball fans have been following his example during every seventh inning ever since. Not every presidential appearance has been as successful as was William Howard Taft's. Herbert Hoover was booed lustily in 1931 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia while attending the World Series between the Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. It's said that Hoover showed up at the game to demonstrate that the depression wasn't as serious as folks thought it was. Obviously, baseball fans had a different view than did their Chief Executive, thus the boos! President Roosevelt accidentally beaned a newspaper reporter, but wasn't booed on Tuesday, April 16th, opening day of 1940. George H. W. Bush and "Shrub" were booed at All-Star games in 1992 and 2008 as was President Obama at the 2009 All-Star game in St. Louis. However, Harry Truman was in "big trouble" and knew it on opening day, Friday, April 20th, 1951 when he visited Griffith Stadium to toss out the first ball of the season. Just nine days earlier he'd fired General Douglas MacArthur. "The General" had delivered a dramatic speech just the day before from the House of Representatives and was America's latest national hero. Republicans, including Senator Robert A. Taft, were screaming for Truman's impeachment. Still, there came Harry to perform his annual presidential baseball duty. As he left in the eighth inning the boos rained down upon him with the announcement asking the fans to stay in their seats until "President Truman and his official party left the stadium.” As Truman was saying goodbye to owner Clark Griffith, a woman was heard to yell, “Where's General MacArthur?" So, was Harry Truman braver than Donald Trump? Trump wasn't at the game to throw out the first pitch - Jose Andres, a prominent Mexican chef who took exception to Mr. Trump's characterization of his countrymen, threw out the first pitch. Still President Trump did show up and he heard the boos and the calls to "lock him up!" President Trump wasn't as physically exposed to the crowd as was President Truman, seated, as he was, in a suite just to the left of home plate. Nor did he sit next to the owner as President Truman had back in 1951. Still, he was there and I think, deserves a dab or a tad of recognition of it.
Last Sunday night's negative reception of President Trump is no forecast of the President's fate official or mortal. Harry Truman more than survived that 1951 Washington Senators opening day crowd, and he survived Congress’s distress as well. However, President Trump’s reception does reflect the temper of the time, and we’re all more than a little foolish when we rudely brush the temper of the time aside!
Keep our current temperament in mind even if it doesn’t provide us the answer to the president’s fate - nor ours!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
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