CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In case you were feeling sorry for Bill Clinton lately, and beginning to believe there really is no tougher job than president, save your pity.
While most people headed out to work Monday morning, Clinton celebrated this cool, early spring day by heading out of the White House for an exclusive, two-state, two-sport doubleheader that only - well, that only a president could enjoy.
By morning, it was off to Cleveland to celebrate, with the Indians and 49,459 fans, the long-awaited opening of Jacobs Field, as they defeated the Seattle Mariners. As if that weren't enough, it was on, courtesy of Air Force One, to Charlotte, N.C., to watch his beloved Arkansas Razorbacks beat Duke 76-72 in the NCAA men's basketball championship.
There was probably no better evidence of just how hot a ticket this day was than the roster of Air Force One: a parade of usually desk-bound Washington officials who seem to have suddenly found pressing business in Cleveland. They included everyone from national security adviser Tony Lake to senior adviser (and Cleveland native) George Stephanopoulos to the president's two hired political consultants, Paul Begala and James Carville.
For Clinton, this bout of presidential hooky provided a welcome day out of Washington. Instead of Whitewater or crashing stock markets or health-care plan setbacks, he and Hillary found ways to celebrate, and associate themselves with, traditional symbols of spring, from Easter to baseball to hometown basketball.
The morning began with the traditional Easter egg hunt on the back lawn of the White House, where thousands of youngsters searched for 30,000 wooden eggs.
In Cleveland, Clinton tossed out the first pitch to Sandy Alomar, Indians catcher. With images of George Bush's pitches into the dirt burned into his memory, Clinton tossed this one deliberately high and hard.
"The only thing you can't do," he told reporters, sharing his combined political and baseball wisdom, "is put it in the dirt."
Clinton, no doubt aware of the contentious debate surrounding the political correctness of a team whose name and culture seem to mock Native Americans, wore a simple baseball cap with just the letter "C" on it.
The real Indians cap has a smiling and faintly menacing red-faced Indian with a feather sticking out of the back of his head, not the stuff presidential photo opportunities are made of.
Things did not go completely smoothly:
At the basketball championships, Duke students gave the first lady a hard time over her past dealings in cattle futures. A sign held by a Blue Devils fan read: "Hillary: Forget Any Hog Futures."
And there were a few boos when the president took the baseball field, though he has done worse at sporting events. And catcher Alomar seemed stunned when asked if he had voted for Clinton.
"I don't vote for nobody that takes my money," said Alomar, apparently one of those upper-income taxpayers Clinton talks about as the only victims of his deficit-closing plan.
Clinton actually had a choice of new ball parks to inaugurate. The other one, though, was in Arlington, Texas, home of the Rangers, owned by George Bush Jr. and other partners. "It wasn't likely Junior was going to call him," said Carville.
Clinton's aides were unable to say whether the president has a favorite baseball team. If he does, it surely isn't the Seattle Mariners. As its members were introduced, Clinton held court in front of the Indians dugout, chatting to reporters about Bosnia, deficits - and baseball.
He turned his full attention to the Indians when they took the field.
From all accounts, the president enjoyed himself - "a happy day for any American who loves sports," he told CBS.
While there was no immediate scoring of the presidential hot-dog or beer count (the staff was tallying that as the day went on), he sat in the unprotected front of the box, clapping and cheering and talking to nearby fans.
Still, his real love is basketball.
As far as opening day games go, this was almost as good as it gets - a no-hitter against the Indians until the 8th inning; an extra-inning game won by the home-teamers in the bottom of the 11th.
But Clinton left around the 9th inning. There were TV interviews to do.
