Many Stand Against State of the Union
Saturday, February 26, 2005
(SNN) In last year’s State of the Union address, amongst the news on the war on terror and the war efforts in Iraq, President Bush made an unbelievable statement. Bush accused some professional athletes of using illegal steroids.
Bush accused some professional athletes of using illegal steroids.
In the statement, President Bush said, “To help children make right choices, they need good examples. Athletics play such an important role in our society, but, unfortunately, some in professional sports are not setting much of an example. The use of performance-enhancing drugs like steroids in baseball, football, and other sports is dangerous, and it sends the wrong message - that there are shortcuts to accomplishment, and that performance is more important than character.”
While many in the political world treated his message with confusion, many of the people who follow sports were outraged. It seems impossible that a mere politician could challenge such unimpeachable role models. Who would dare accuse men such as Barry Bonds, OJ Simpson, and Kobe Bryant of miscreance or wrongdoing?
Jose Canseco has even gone as far as to accuse President Bush
Jose Canseco has even gone as far as to accuse President Bush of knowing about steroid use going on when he was a co-owner of the Texas Rangers. But if this were true, it would mean that either the President was lying, or that he was a puppet, a proxy, a pawn, some dumb jerk who can be easily pushed around.
Many have pointed out that one the most powerful members of the Republican Party, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, is an admitted steroid user. ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd asked recently, “If used in moderation, how bad could [steroids] be? Look what it did for (Governor) Schwarzenegger.” Cowherd has many times compared steroids with alcohol and cigarettes.
Now, Governor Schwarzenegger has publicly stated that he has no regrets about his steroid use because steroids were legal at the time he took them. “We went to the doctor and did it under doctors' supervision. We were experimenting with it. It was a new thing. So you can't roll the clock back and say, 'Now I would change my mind on this.” But Cowherd and others like him are selling a skilled man like Governor Schwarzenegger short. Even if he had not been Mr. Universe, Schwarzenegger could have simply started his acting or political careers earlier.
