Play Ball!

It's funny how everything in life seems to separate itself into groups. There are the obvious ones: men and women; adults and children; cats and dogs. But then there are the not so obvious ones. I have a co-worker who pointed out that moms are like democrats and dads are like republicans. Moms keep giving you second chances, and they tend to see their babies as victims rather than as guilty. Dads, on the other hand, tend to implement a more 'tough love' attitude. They tend to want to cut the apron strings as soon as possible, and drop you into the deep end of the pool because life is tough, and the sooner you find that out the better. I get that. The analogy, and the separation, works for me.

There was one unexpected separation that I never would have guessed, however, that occurred in Congress this past month. On February 14th, Roger Clemens and his one-time trainer Brian McNamee testified before a congressional committee. Tough questions were asked of both men. Rep. Cummings started off by repeatedly reminding Clemens that he was under oath, and to speak up loudly, nearly to the point of badgering the man. Rep. Waxman, during his long questioning, kept the pressure on Clemens. At one point, one of Clemens' lawyers tried to interject several times, but Waxman effectively cut him off each time. But McNamee got a grilling as good as Clemens did. Rep. Burton called McNamee a liar, and told him that his lying was "disgusting". Wow. Congressmen standing up for morals and ethics.

But wait. As I read over the testimonies given, and the questions asked, I noticed a strange pattern, a separation of people. Democrats tended to rake Clemens over the coals, while Republicans tore McNamee a new one. Hmmm. Henry Waxman, democrat from California: Clemens 0; McNamee 1. Elijah Cummings, democrat form Maryland: Clemens 0; McNamee 2. Dan Burton, republican from Indiana: Clemens 1; McNamee 2. And then there was Mark Souder, republican from Indiana, who stated that "it's better not to talk about the past" when Mark McGwire's hearing was brought up: Clemens 2; McNamee 2.

So, everything naturally falls into groups: hot drinks and cold drinks; meat and vegetables; hamburgers and hot dogs, congressmen and baseball players. Who knew?