Comments on: Nationals add William Howard Taft as new racing president

By: seeinred87

seeinred87 — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 12:05:00 +0000

That made me laugh. Pretty hard too.

By: umrguy42

umrguy42 — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:15:06 +0000

The Feesh would’ve just traded him to the Nats eventually for a couple of congressmen, so…

By: dcfan4life

dcfan4life — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 19:23:44 +0000

A giant Obama head running the race would have been so much funnier…

By: statslady

statslady — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 18:54:37 +0000

William Howard Taft, the man who had to purchase a custom-built bathtub for the residence in order to cope with his enormous girth. Taft may well have been the first President to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day, but he was also the person responsible for the seventh inning stretch. His weight meant that his knees were so bad, he couldn’t remain seated for a full game, even though games then were much shorter than they are now. At one game, he rose after the top of the 7th, to stretch his knees. The crowd, seeing the President standing, also stood (as etiquette demands), also stood, and sat again once he had taken his seat again.

Taft may well have been a big baseball fan, but the man had trouble moving around because of the damage done to his knees by his weight. That makes him almost as poor choice as a 5th President in the race as FDR would have been.

Then again, even the slowest-moving players can hit an inside-the-park HR, as long as all of the outfielders are falling over each other.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:07:04 +0000

Which still put him in the neighborhood of 250-275 (about his college weight too, I think) — he was a big dude and did a variety of diets in his lifetime.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:59:10 +0000

In all fairness, he was a one-termer who didn’t do much and fell asleep in meetings a lot. He wasn’t a very notable president. His work on the SCt was regarded better.

By: mazblast

mazblast — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:04:28 +0000

Taft was a huge fan of the game in more ways than one, and loved playing baseball as a kid. Unlike many Presidents, including the present one, he didn’t have to feign interest.

By: Roger Moore

Roger Moore — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 15:50:06 +0000

And he wasn’t just president, either; he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after his term was over. That makes him the only person to hold the highest office in two different branches of our government.

By: kirkvanhouten

kirkvanhouten — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 15:37:21 +0000

It’s kind of pathetic that the only thing anyone can think of to say about Taft is that “oh, he was the fat one”. For god’s sake, he was the most powerful man in the nation. Maybe we should stop fitting into that stereotype of ignorant Americans so easily. Did you know that Taft was responsible for….umm….things….probably. And that one time he…..errr…

shit….

He was fat, wasn’t he!

By: steelers88

steelers88 — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 14:15:22 +0000

Who wins first in 2013 Teddy or Taft?

By: schmedley69

schmedley69 — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 14:01:48 +0000

Nixon would have been more fitting, because the Phillies are already preparing Impeachment proceedings to prevent the Nats from completing their second term as NL East Champs.

By: pefsu13

pefsu13 — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 06:31:41 +0000

Well, that’s half true. After he left office he dropped a ton of weight and lived longer than doctors said he should have. I think it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 70+ lbs.

By: canadabaseball

canadabaseball — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 05:59:23 +0000

How is this not top news ?

By: tuberippin

tuberippin — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 05:16:33 +0000

James Madison is displeased

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 04:58:38 +0000

Too much? I didn’t even mention the rectal abscess.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 04:51:33 +0000

I’m glad the Gnats got to him before the Feesh signed him to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

By: husky2score

husky2score — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 03:41:45 +0000

Woah woah woah what?

By: jhorton83

jhorton83 — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 03:04:41 +0000

Fuck Taft.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:29:48 +0000

Good old Glutton Taft! Watch your hot dogs and don’t sit too close to him — he’s rather “noisy,” if you know what I mean (both ends).

Seriously, a competitor both sides of the aisle can hate: he opposed organized labor but also gave us the corporate income tax. Too tubby to win and everyone can get behind him to lose. Winning!

By: hpt150

hpt150 — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:24:50 +0000

Also, Taft was the (purported) originator of the 7th inning stretch.

By: bluesnats

bluesnats — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:11:21 +0000

Still better than Delmon Young

By: whmiv21

whmiv21 — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:07:42 +0000

He eventually got a bathtub custom made. It could fit three grown men.

By: natsattack

natsattack — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 01:48:05 +0000

He once got stuck in the white house bathtub and was so big he got buried in a piano box instead of a coffin.

By: husky2score

husky2score — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 01:45:57 +0000

Isn’t Taft the fat one? If so he would take up the whole warning track.