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Even though he feels steroids have clouded the great sport of baseball, and he previously said he wasn't sure how he'd handle Barry Bonds, President Bush still congratulated the new home run king via telephone on Wednesday, as Steroid Nation points out.

"You've always been a great hitter and you broke a great record," Bush told Bonds on the phone, according to White House spokesman Tony Fratto.

The President later appeared in an interview, during which he expressed his suspicions of the record:

"There is a lot of speculation about Barry Bonds, and my only advice for people is to just let history be the judge," Bush said during the interview. "Let's find out the facts, and then everybody's opinion - one way or the other - will be verified or not verified."

That makes both Commissioner Selig and President Bush who have called to congratulate Barry, regardless of what indictments they may anticipate are coming, and how they feel Bonds achieved the record. I doubt the congratulatory phone call means Bush has changed his harsh stance towards steroids use; he probably felt that making the call was the right thing to do.

Previously at FanHouse:
President Bush: Steroids Have Clouded Baseball, Would Wait and See With Bonds
Bud Selig Wants You to Know He Congratulated Barry Bonds

Lest you worry that small children the world over were being suckered into steroid use at the sight of Barry Bonds's notable accomplishments, fear not: the children hate Bonds too!

These ballplayers may be only 8 to 10 years young, but they're already old enough to pass moral judgment on Bonds, the home-run-clobbering San Francisco Giant whose assault on one of baseball's most sacred records has been tainted by suspicions of illegal performance-enhancing drug use.

"Hank Aaron should get to keep the record, not Bonds," the 8-year-old pitcher argues. "Bonds cheated."

"The home run record is huge but not when you get it by cheating," says Dakota Potter, 9, of Irvine, who plays third base for his Little League team. "I don't know anyone who likes Bonds. He's scary, and he used steroids."

See, folks? Even the pure of heart -- the small, feeble children of Southern California -- dislike Bonds and his impending record just as much as you do. Doesn't that make you feel better? In the sense that we can rest assured our children aren't all being corrupted into rampant steroid use, at least not until they're 13 or 14 ... yes, I feel much better now.

About a month ago, I told you that Barry Bonds' attorney, Michael Rains, tore into the government's steroids probe of Bonds. I also just noted that there was a New York Daily News report suggesting the grand jury was close to indicting Bonds. Recently, Rains has even called the investigation a "witch hunt." Now, Rains has taken that a step further, suggesting President Bush is behind the push for indictment:

"This investigation is based on the political considerations of this (presidential) administration," Rains told the Mercury News on Friday. "The Balco case is a legacy of Bush, and it is a catastrophic failure - legally and from a public-relations standpoint."

Rains said he believed the ultimate call to indict would be made by no less than the president, who directed a massive shake-up of the Justice Department earlier this year under embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez.

"Barry and I have talked about it, and he can't believe it," Rains said. "I think it's possible, I really do. The case has been so political.

"The question is how they can throw in the towel without losing an immense amount of face after all they have done."

Wow, that is quite the charge by Rains. But that shouldn't be a huge surprise, after all, his job is to defend Barry. Earlier in the week I wrote about President Bush's interview with Karl Ravech on ESPN. When asked what how he would treat the Barry Bonds situation if he were Bud Selig, Bush was non-committal:

Baseball unites all Americans -- OK, not really -- so maybe if there's one thing we can all agree on, liberal or conservative, red state or blue ... is that it's at least mildly entertaining watching President Bush face to face with Karl Ravech. Too bad John Kruk wasn't invited out.

(HT: Simon On Sports)

After making it known that he was a fan of Baseball Tonight, President George W. Bush allowed himself to be interviewed by ESPN studio host Karl Ravech outside of the White House. Several pieces of the interview were aired on Sunday, and what struck me most was President Bush's thoughts about steroids in baseball. Being a former baseball team owner, he obviously understands the impact of steroids on the game, and frowns upon the use of them:

Clearly, the steroid issue put a cloud over the great sport to a certain extent. I appreciate the fact that the commissioner and the labor have worked out an agreement to win the trust of the fans.
...
I had talked to some of my baseball buddies and said this steroid issue looks like it's getting out of control. So I just decided to say something about it with the intent to try and put the spotlight on it and then John McCain picked it up and members of Congress did. And I think it was a useful forum because it basically said enough's enough; we want players to be using their god-given talent.

As far as implicating Bonds or deciding what he would do if he were the commissioner, the President was less certain:

You know, I don't know, I have my mind elsewhere these days...I really haven't considered what I would do.
...
You know, it's hard for me to tell. Again, I know there's a lot of implications, my advice is for people just to wait and see what the facts are.

President Bush did a good job of avoiding controversy with his answer about dealing with Barry Bonds. Privately, we don't know what he feels, but publicly, he kept from rocking the boat. As far as steroids goes, it's good to see he sparked Congress to take the matter seriously because he's right -- steroids have clouded the game.

Apparently, George Bush doesn't forgive and forget. At a meeting on Capitol Hill last week, Bush gave Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) an earful about Nick Saban's $4 million plus salary. From Mary Ann Akers via the Washington Post:

"Richard, how's that coach doing?" the president asked, according to sources in the room, one of whom said Bush dryly mentioned how the cushy deal must be costing "a lot of taxpayer money" for the citizens of Alabama (one of the poorest states in the nation).

"He's making a lot of money, more than we're making," Shelby acknowledged. "And I hope he'll produce this fall so we can compete with the University of Texas."

'Course, it could be that Bush's little quip is a remnant of a grudge he might hold against the new coach, NFL hotshot Nick Saban, for dissing Bush by declining his dinner invitation last year because he had to get his Miami Dolphins to training camp early.

HEYYYYY-O! Now, via BamaMag.com ($) we have Saban's side of the story:

"President Bush, we had the opportunity to meet him when we won the national championship and we had the opportunity to go to the White House, and he was very cordial," Saban said. "He came to South Florida last year when we had camp. We had practice, and he invited me to go to dinner with him and I didn't miss practice to go to dinner. I hope he's not mad at me. We were just trying to take care of business first."

Nah, I'm sure he's not mad, Nick. That was a pretty important practice. Dinner with the president? That clearly comes second.

It's not often you have a college football coach and the President of the United States sniping at each other from afar, so enjoy it while it lasts.