Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Mitchell vs the blowhards

I've been following the testimony via NYT's Bats Blog, which is fun. I'm liking George Mitchell more and more:

“Why should cheating be a matter of collective bargaining?” [Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn.] asked rhetorically to Mitchell – who, as usual, had a measured and informed response.

“It has been settled law in the United States for more than 20 years that drug testing in the workplace is a subject of collective bargaining.” Showing some restraint, Mitchell omitted the requisite “duh”, given the solemnity of these proceedings...

Shays continued, and later during his five minutes referred to Rafael Palmeiro as “Palmerry.” Mitchell kept his composure during a confounding question, regarding whether Palmeiro had tested positive “before his three-hundredth hit?”

A knowledgeable baseball fan despite recent events, Mitchell responded: “I’m sorry, before what?”

Just awesome. Hard to imagine Mitchell was once in Congress himself.

2 comments:

  1. I love crap like that.

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  2. another great quote, not from the hearings but from Clemens' blowhard attorney:

    "We had a good meeting with the committee staff," Hardin said in a statement. "We were treated very courteously and found the conversation informative and beneficial. However, I do not think it appropriate to publicly discuss the details of a private meeting."

    Hmmm, he does not think it appropriate to publicly discuss the details of a private meeting. But he does think it appropriate to play a recording of a private conversation in which the person being recorded is sobbing and sounds depressed, torn and frustrated.

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