George W. Bush threw out the first pitch of the baseball season last night in Washington, D.C.
This morning the hot question seems to be: Did he get booed or cheered?
The Baltimore Sun says “It seemed there were more cheers than boos, but not by much,” quoting a pool reporter for the national press. The Washington Post says Bush “strode onto the field to a near-equal mixture of cheers and boos.”
The Los Angeles Times calls it “a chorus of mostly boos.” MLB.com, putting the best face on things, calls it “A good mix of cheers and boos.”
The Associated Press avoids a guess, saying merely that “some of the fans in attendance booed him.” However, the AP also notes that Bush was “mostly cheered” when throwing out the first pitch in 2005, and that “Vice President Dick Cheney, who threw the first pitch the next year, had it a bit rougher. He was greeted by boos, and his ball landed in the dirt.”
The Washington Times has video of the event which make the boos sound quite loud. But perhaps, a la The Simpsons, fans were simply saying “Buuu-uush!”
[April 2nd update: Mind meld with the New York Times editorial board!]