The presidential seal

Only Roy Halladay gets to shrug off a name check from a man with a nuclear arsenal.

I asked him yesterday about getting name checked by George W. Bush.

"That's cool," Halladay said, sounding it wasn't really that cool. "Any time the leader of a country acknowledges you, it's cool."

So this happens to you a lot?

"It never has."

Okay.

The person who seemed really excited was clubhouse Bush booster John Gibbons. When I told him about it, Gibbons' eyes lit up and he burst out, "Good for George!"

Then he started hollering for Halladay, who was loitering in the hall outside his office with the other pitchers waiting to do their pre-series slide show about the Phillies.

"Doc! DOOOOC!" Gibbons hollered, making the pitchers skittish. They're not used to being hollered at by Gibbons. Halladay actually jogged into the room.

"Tell him," Gibbons said to me excitedly.

But Halladay already knew. His agent emailed him the text from the politico.com.

"Yeah, that's cool," Halladay said. Cool.

I asked Halladay who his favourite president was. No dice. "That's too political for me," he said.

Then I asked who his infield keystone was (Bush picked Phillie Chase Utley).

"(Derek) Jeter," Halladay said. And then as he walked away, and with a smile, "But don't tell him I said that."

Cathal Kelly

Comments

[ew]

And starting today for your Haliburton Kickbacks...ROY HALLADAY.

[Bubs]

I've never really had much of a problem with the way Gibbons manages games, but his unrelenting support of George Bush should be reason enough to fire him.

[mark]

Who does Riccardi like? Ralph Nader maybe (perennial presidential loser... J.P.s kinda' guy).

[Colin W]

Richard: Leaving George for a sec, in reading a comment or two of the past several days, do I sense that you would support the Blue Jays signing Barry Bonds if they had the chance?