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| Home Front: Politix | |
| Schilling's not done pitching, and Bush digs it | |
| 2004-10-29 | |
| Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling will throw his support to President Bush at two New Hampshire rallies today, unexpectedly stealing part of Sen. John F. Kerry's hometown base. In an unexpected slapdown to the Bay State senator, Schilling urged support for Bush during an interview yesterday on ABC's ``Good Morning America.'' ``Make sure you tell everybody to vote - and vote Bush - next week,'' Schilling said. Surprised host Charlie Gibson replied, ``Whoa, all right. Something else that divides the nation as well.'' Bush - who hadn't even stayed up to watch the whole game - quickly called Schilling to thank him for the plug, or as spokesman Scott McClellan put it, his ``kind words of support.'' The Bush campaign immediately touted Schilling's words, e-mailing the comment to reporters in an effort to take the spotlight away from Kerry even as he celebrated the Red Sox' World Series win. Schilling will introduce Bush at events today in Manchester and Portsmouth, N.H. His endorsement marks the second time Kerry has been dissed by a major sports hero from his back yard. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady snubbed Kerry by opting out of a fund-raiser and showed up at Bush's State of the Union speech, making a brief statement backing the president. The notoriously early-to-bed Bush watched some of Wednesday night's World Series Game 4 but then went to sleep. He didn't find out who won until yesterday morning. Schilling's endorsement of Bush came as Kerry tried to associate himself with the win. The Bay State senator put out a statement saying he'd ``been rooting for this day'' since he was a kid, and wore a somewhat ill-fitting Red Sox ballcap on stage yesterday. Bush aides could be heard mocking Kerry's headgear when they saw pictures of him wearing it on television. UPDATE: Newly minted World Series hero Curt Schilling canceled a scheduled campaign appearance with President Bush on Friday, saying his doctors advised him not to travel because of his injured ankle. An e-mailer identifying himself as the Boston Red Sox pitcher posted a message on the bostondirtdogs.com Web site saying, "I am now not medically cleared to do anything until I see Doc on Sunday, so I cannot travel with President Bush." Schilling, who has been known to contribute frequently to online fan forums, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Friday. The pitcher endorsed Bush in an interview on ABC's Good Morning America Thursday, a day after the Red Sox won the franchise's first World Series championship in 86 years. In his e-mail, Schilling said he should have kept his opinion to himself. "While I am a Bush supporter, and I did vote for him with an absentee ballot, speaking as I did the other day was wrong. While I hope to see him re-elected, it's not my place, nor the time for me to offer up my political opinions unsolicited," he said.
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| Posted by:Steve |