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Bush won't intervene in baseball dispute

Spokesman: 'owners and players' must resolve differences

President Bush, shown here at a campaign event in Oklahoma, would be 'furious' with a baseball strike, says a spokesman.
President Bush, shown here at a campaign event in Oklahoma, would be 'furious' with a baseball strike, says a spokesman.  


From Kelly Wallace
CNN Washington

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (CNN) -- President Bush, hoping to put some pressure on Major League Baseball players and owners, would be "furious" if there was a strike, a spokesman said Thursday, but he has no plans to step in to avert one.

"As the president has said ... and as an avid fan of our national pastime, the president would be furious if there is a strike," Scott McClellan, White House deputy press secretary, told reporters en route to Oklahoma City for a GOP fund-raiser. "The president believes very strongly that owners and players need to come together and resolve their differences."

Asked if the White House planned to get involved to avert a strike, McClellan said this is a matter "that owners and players need to resolve."

In 1994, the last time players decided to strike, former President Clinton did not step in until after the strike began. A few months into the strike, his administration appointed a special mediator to work with owners and players. In February 1995, Clinton summoned both sides to the White House, but failed to broker a deal.

Earlier this month, Bush, a former part owner of the Texas Rangers, spoke out for the first time about a possible strike, stressing he and fans all across the country would be angry if a strike were to take place.

"The baseball owners and the baseball players must understand that if there is a work stop, a lot of fans are going to be furious and I'm one," the president said during an August 16 barbecue in Crawford, Texas. "It is very important for these people to get together. They can make every excuse in the book not to reach an accord. It is bad for them not to reach an accord. They need to keep working."



 
 
 
 


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