Obama Goes NASCAR

Ted Bromund / August 21, 2009

As part of his on-going effort to reduce carbon emissions – or perhaps in an effort to charm a conservative-leaning audience that’s skeptical of his health care plans – President Obama, Wednesday, honored Jimmie Johnson, the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, and extolled the virtues of this “uniquely American sport.” It’s not a sport he appears to have much liking for: his jokes were labored and he butchered the name of one of the honorees.

Presidents have to do a lot of this sort of thing, of course, and it is hard to blame the President for so evidently finding the job a chore. But he didn’t have to take the next step. During an accompanying interview with ESPN, he proffered the belief that Ford, GM, and Chrysler should stay associated with NASCAR: (more…)