Does the Hall of Fame Have a Body Count?

Rafael Palmeiro is one of four players in major league history with 3000 hits and 500 home runs. The others are Willie Mays, Hand Aaron, and Eddie Murray who are all in the Hall of Fame. The Orioles first baseman had crept up on these statistical accomplishments. That is people didn't necessarily buy tickets because Palmeiro might be playing. He was arguably best known for doing Viagra (a performance enhancer not banned by major league baseball) ads and for his spirited "I don't and never have done steroids" appearance when Congress decided that steroids in baseball, flag burning, and Terry Schiavo were more presssing issues than say getting body armor to troops or ensuring health care for all children.

On Monday, it was announced that Baseball suspended Palmeiro for ten games for using a banned substance, likely steroids. The President who once owned the Texas Rangers has since vouched for his former player. "I believe him and I believe what he said before congress."
Palmeiro's first comments after the suspension was that it must have been inadvertent or something that was in a dietary supplement that he wasn't aware of. On Wednesday, a source has indicated that the banned substance in question was a powerful steroid, Stanozolol, that isn't generally par of diet supplements. In the meantime, Palmeiro's agreed to turn over his test information to the Government Reform Committee that convened the steroid hearings which to his credit makes him more forthcming with Congress than Joh Bolton. It is fascinating that Congress is so quick to respond to a steroid allegation and much less willing to investigate the falsification of WMD evidence.

I don't know if Palmeiro lied to Congress. It's now more than Jose Canseco's word against Rafael Palmeiro though. A number of sportswriters are suggesting that despite the statistical evidence in his favor, they likely won't vote for Palmeiro for the Hall of Fame despite the President's endorsement of his friend's integrity.) (Did anyone notice that President Bush's defense of Palmeiro was more spirited than Scott Mclellan's no comment in response to questions about the President's confidence in Karl Rove after it turned out that Rove was one of Cooper's sources?) At this point though, Bob from the Enzyte commercials may have more credibility than Rafael Palmeiro.
It all raises a question though. If I think of the Downing St. Memo, various Administration admissions that no WMD were found and that there was no confirmation of actual attempts to buy Uranium in Niger, the various documented issues with US detention facilities, the missing money in Iraq, okay okay, I can't keep typing like this.....it seems to me that if the question is should the Bush Administration get voted into the Hall of Fame, much of America would have to say "No", because it fails to meet the emerging Palmeiro/Mcgwire integrity standard. In the meantime, 21 American soldiers were killed in the last 2 days. What's the "integrity" standard for putting our own sons and daughters at risk?

"Rafael Palmeiro is a friend. He testified in public and I believe him," Bush said, referring to Palmeiro's denials under oath to a congressional committee on March 17. "He's the kind of person that's going to stand up in front of the klieg lights and say he didn't use steroids, and I believe him. Still do."


Q: So you're not going to respond as to whether or not the President has confidence in his Deputy Chief of Staff?

MR. McCLELLAN: Carl, you're asking this question in the context of an ongoing investigation. And I would not read anything into it other than I'm simply not going to comment on an ongoing --

from 7/11 White House press conference
Why not have Karl Rove testify under the klieg lights, so the president can endorse him in the same fashion? btw Palmeiro still seems to be the object of ongoing investigation in some form.


Palmeiro speaks out on Politics

Stray Jose Canseco thoughts,

Stanozolol is the same substance that Jose Canseco had claimed that Palmeiro had used. While I tend to believe that the President likes to be a reflexively loyal guy, I also remember Canseco's much dismissed claim that George Bush team owner likely knew about the steroids and just didn't do anything. I'd consider the possibililty that his passionate defense of Palmeiro vs. his legalese comments on Rove a few weeks ago might be the product of his not wanting Palmeiro to "talk".



btw thank you Paul Hackett for speaking out againt the war and standing by it. Iraq war veterans need to have a voice in Congress as we debate the war