A Test of Relevance

Nedra Pickler writes for the Associated Press: "Bush, the former Texas Rangers owner, told Fox Sports Network in a gametime interview that he has been a baseball fan since birth.

" 'I was born when my dad was in college, and he was the first baseman for the Yale Bulldogs, and mother used to take me to the games,' Bush said. 'So it was like immersion from a young age.'

" 'I've got the dish at home at the White House, and so, when I'm doing my work, I keep a game on. And there's nothing better than opening day,' the president said."

Paul Sullivan writes in the Chicago Tribune about Bush's visit to the Cubs' clubhouse.

"President Bush greeted every player and tried to personalize every greeting. It didn't always work, as with Todd Walker.

" 'I said, "Hey, how ya doing, my name's Todd Walker,'' . . . He said, "Hey, Tom, how are ya?" So I don't guess I made too good of an impression. But it was a neat thing.' . . .

"The president briefly discussed his faith with left fielder Matt Murton, who is a born-again Christian."

Here's video of the pitch.

Twins in the Running, Redux

I linked yesterday to Shawn Fenner 's Richmond Times-Dispatch story about the Bush twins running incognito in a 10K there over the weekend -- and completing the race in under 55:00.

I challenged you readers to spot their aliases in this list of women finishers, aged 20-24.

It wasn't hard, apparently. Reader Bob Rozier was the first of many to call my attention to finishers 129 and 130: Emily Jackson and Sarah Jackson, both of Arlington, both finishing at 54:27.

Taking Sides

It's been said that Fox News is the unofficial network of the Republican Party, but it comes as a bit of a shock when a purported White House correspondent appears on the actual, official network of the Republican party.

Bill Sammon, formerly of the Washington Times, now the marquee White House correspondent for the fledgling Washington Examiner, is the star of a new podcast on GOP Radio, on the Web site of the Republican National Committee.

Sammon is flogging his new book, "Strategery: How George W. Bush Is Defeating Terrorists, Outwitting Democrats, and Confounding the Mainstream Media."

"I think he's on a comeback right now," Sammon tells GOP.com about the president. "I've said for some time I think they ought to let Bush be Bush," he says. (See yesterday's column .)

"One of the things that drives the media nuts is that he does have the courage of his convictions," Sammon says.

Host Kevin McLaughlin, the director of GOP radio, asked Sammon: "We know how the press treats the president. Not a lot of respect there. How does the press treat you? . . . Do they see you as a sellout, knowing you aren't buying into the liberal bias they have?"

Sammon: "I consider myself friends with almost every person in the White House press corps. . . . They're very funny, they're irreverent, they're witty, they're good people. But my problem with them is institutionally, they have this institutional bias that I can't abide."

Kessler Watch

Francis Harris writes in the Telegraph: "Laura Bush has shaken the decorous world of America's unofficial First Ladies' club by taunting Hillary Clinton about poor housekeeping and bad taste while in the White House. . . .

"According to 'Laura Bush, an Intimate Portrait of the First Lady,' published today, the trouble began when Mrs Clinton took the new First Lady on a tour of the White House after the 2000 election. Mrs Bush, famed for her impeccable presentation, disclosed that she was appalled by the state of the carpets and furniture in the West Wing. Many were described as frayed. Furnishings in the East Wing, the official quarters of the First Lady, looked dated, the book says. Mrs Bush was also taken aback by the garish, clashing colours of much of the decor, which included red, blue and gold. . . .

"The book was written by Ron Kessler, a former journalist, with White House approval. . . . The biography has been described by the book industry's bible, Publishers Weekly , as 'unsurprisingly flattering' about Mrs Bush and filled with 'unsubtle' jabs at Mrs Clinton."

Marianne Means writes in her Hearst opinion column: "Two new books meant to applaud Laura Bush's pleasant personality actually highlight how she has wasted her unique opportunity to play an influential role. We expect more of women in public life now than we did when Bess Truman was first lady. And the war in Iraq has become so all-consuming with voters that the do-good projects designed to give her increased visibility in the second Bush term seem too little, too late."

In Retrospect. . . .

As we learn more about Bush's march to war in Iraq, do the journalists and pundits who missed the real story owe us some sort of explanation?

David Corn , writing in the Nation, compares Bob Woodward's account of a January 2003 meeting between Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair with a recently leaked memo describing the same event. He concludes that Woodward got spun by his sources.

Corn updated his piece late yesterday with news that "Woodward called to tell me that he thought that the article was 'dishonest' and 'unfair' and that I owed him an apology. . . . I promised to print as long a reply as he would care to write. He said he would send something along soon."

We'll stay tuned.

Editor and Publisher columnist Greg Mitchell last week compared Richard Cohen on the war, then -- and now .

"Richard Cohen, the longtime Washington Post columnist sometimes accused of being a 'liberal,' produced a strong column today, titled 'Bush Wanted War.' In it he said he had long been skeptical of this idea, but now had come to accept it. That's all well and good, but where was Cohen a little more than three years ago, when this fact was as plain as the smirk on the president's face, and the columnist agitated for war anyway?"