Odds and Sods

An Associated Press Opinion Piece? on the Clemens Debacle

Roger Clemens’ visit to Capitol Hill left a lot of people wondering the same thing: Was it really necessary?

This seems to suggest that there was some sort of debate as to whether this was necessary. Everyone not a member of the U.S. Congress, with the notable exception of salivating Jeff Novitsky, already realized it was useless before it happened. Even freaking Mike and Mike couldn’t frame this into an issue. No one is asking this.

We held the hearing because Roger Clemens wanted that hearing, because Roger Clemens wanted the chance to speak in public and make his case.

Why is the United States Congress serving at the behest of Roger Clemens? He hasn’t had enough opportunity to state his case publicly already? Couldn’t he do this during the libel case he is allegedly pursuing against Brian McNamee?

Any suggestion whatsoever that this hearing was the result of our request is simply not accurate.

Neither is the memory of anyone associated with Roger Clemens except Roger Clemens.

The crux of this issue is whether the depositions and affidavits taken from several witnesses, including Clemens, in the weeks before the hearing could have given the committee all the evidence it needed to issue a report without the public spectacle.

No, the crux of the issue is why Congress would have shoved its pork bellied beak into this issue in the first place. Why does Congress need to issue a report on this? Surely there are more salient issues that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform could concern themselves with?

What we could not live with was a report that was cut-and-pasted without all of us hearing and seeing from Roger directly.

Yes, because having Roger read the same prepared statements in a calculated manner and throw his wife under the bus really cut him as a compelling figure.

In all of my years of watching politics, I’ve never seen a good witness before Congress.

See: John Kerry before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee April 22, 1971.

Although there was a lot of back and forth, a lot of arguing, the fact still remains that it dominated the news cycle…if we’re able to cause one child to say, I’m not going the steroids route, if we’re able to save one life, I think it’s well worth it.

Ok, so ESPN running “BREAKING NEWS” that there was no news to come out of the hearing and having body language experts and talking heads comment about how there was no news to come out of the hearing constitutes the reason for having the hearing?

What about the other few million kids who just got scared off running for Congress because they don’t want to associate with bumbling buffoons?

I dont worry so much about the Roger Clemenses of the world. You know why? He’s a multimillionaire. He’s been paid well. He’s paid to do two things: practice and play. He’s going to be fine.

Ok, so Roger Clemens is living the sweet life and can throw gobs of money at high-priced lawyers to make sure that no one bothers him and retire in his 40s. That is really scaring the kids off steroids.

Does anyone else snicker every time they say “Rusty Hardin” ?