Though the Romney campaign has all but given up on winning the candidate's home state of Massachusetts, the campaign is still trying to win over Red Sox fans.
During a fundraiser Monday, President Barack Obama joked with a Boston crowd, telling them, "Finally, Boston I just want to say -- thank you for Youkilis," in reference to the Red Sox's trade of Kevin Youkilis to Obama's home team, the Chicago White Sox. The president was booed, but there was also a noticeable rumble of "Y-o-o-u-k," which Red Sox fans used to cheer when the player came to bat. Obama recovered, saying, "Obviously, you got to know your crowd," which was met with cheers from the gathering.
In a Tuesday morning email, the Romney campaign played on the crowd's reaction:
In baseball, an error is a misplay or fumble, as when a player drops a pop fly or lets a ground ball go through his legs. Last night in Boston, President Obama went to the heart of Red Sox nation and committed an error by taunting fans over the Kevin Youkilis trade to the Chicago White Sox.
And he was booed for it ... at his own event!
The Red Sox have suffered many setbacks over the years -- the Babe Ruth trade, the ball through Buckner's legs, the Bucky Dent home run.
Maybe the President should have congratulated the team for winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007. Instead, he chose to mock them for trading away one of its favorite players at a time when the team is struggling.
The email asserts: "Whether it's bad baseball cracks or bad policy, President Obama is striking out."
Romney, a self-proclaimed Red Sox fan, has struggled with the team's history. The candidate flubbed during a 2007 debate when he said that the Red Sox had gone 87 years without a championship, when in fact the drought was 86 years.
UPDATE: 11:52 a.m. -- Talking with reporters aboard Air Force One, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney responded to criticism of the president's Youkilis joke. "There has been some really silly reporting about the president's remarks regarding Kevin Youkilis last night. It is highly commendable, in my view as a Red Sox fan, that the president has always refused to pander on sports. He is a White Sox fan, he owns his fandom of the White Sox," he said. "He proved that again last night. And anyone who knows Boston, knows the Red Sox and anyone who was in that room last night knows that the preponderance of people shouting in response to what the president said about Kevin Youkilis were saying 'Yoooook' and not 'Booo.'"
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