Imagine our thrill last night to see beloved WJLA anchor Leon Harris hosting NewsChannel 8’s pre-game broadcast of the Washington Nationals inaugural game at Nationals Park.

What was it like to be there on such an historic baseball night?  We asked Leon that very question.  Here’s his answer:

It was a lot of fun, let me tell you! I’m just like, maybe 40,000 of the people who were at Nationals Park Sunday night - it was my first time seeing in person something I’d read or heard about for months. I thought I knew what to expect, but at the same time expected to be a little disappointed with SOMETHING. You know? As it turned out, I got a little tingly (to steal a line from Chris Matthews) when I hit the Concourse and first smelled the food and the grass. Man, that moment said “It’s spring!” to me in the most visceral way. The stadium and the game didn’t disappoint. The venue is both big enough and small enough - it feels like what you’re watching is world-class, but intimate enough to make you feel a little special for having gotten in.

And you know what else seemed cool to me? I’m sure they were there, but I didn’t see stands overrun with pols, celebs and bigwigs. Maybe it’s just where I walked, but that was fine with me. What makes a ninth-inning walkoff homer to win an inaugural game a storybook ending for me is knowing that a lot of hardworking regular folks got to enjoy it, too.

Spotted at the sensational blog Let Teddy Win

Hilarious headline laugh of the day comes from Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit:

MAKE WAY FOR A FRESH CROP OF DAILYKOS DIARISTS: “The staff of Newsweek will shrink dramatically, after 111 staffers on its news and business sides accepted a buyout last week.”

Here’s an idea for Hillary Clinton to steal some momentum from Barack Obama:

Baseball.

Pay homage to the new Ernie Banks statue the Chicago Cubs are unveiling today.

Banks, of course, is the greatest shortstop of all time.

Clinton, of course, is the greatest Cub fans of all time.

And home-stater Obama? Well, his loyalties lie elsewhere — with the White Sox.

UPDATE:

Contrast President Bush throwing out the first pitch at Nationals Park …

… with Joan Steinbrenner doing this

UPDATE: … or better yet, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory…

We learn this from the Wall Street Journal:

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson is expected to announce his resignation Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, a decision that will deal a blow to the Bush administration’s efforts to tackle the housing crisis.

The exact reasons for Mr. Jackson’s decision couldn’t be learned. Earlier this month, two Democratic senators, Patty Murray of Washington and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, sent a letter to President Bush urging him to request Mr. Jackson’s resignation, arguing that accusations of wrongdoing had made him ineffective.

Fair enough.  But what about HUD itself?  Is HUD effective or ineffective?

As a two-time HUD staffer, I continue to maintain that America needs to seriously assess what the federal government does right in housing, and what it does wrong.  Part of that assessment must be whether HUD is part of the solution or part of the problem.

HUD’s history is replete with examples of wrongdoing — corruption, even.  Are the leaders all solely to blame, or could it be the place itself?

If Al Jackson is eventually proven of wrongdoing, clearly the right thing to do is to get rid of him.

But HUD will remain.

And so will the potential for more wrongdoing.

My old boss, Jack Kemp, once said of the department’s scandals that preceded his tenure as HUD Secretary: “We are cleaning out the stables.”

Still a noble cause — but what if we just shut the stables down?

Here’s CNN senior analyst Jeffrey Toobin’s take on the new John McCain ad:

I’d like to talk about another aspect of that ad, which I think is really interesting. The American candidate that Americans have been waiting for, using the word American twice in one sentence with his slogan, it seems to me that was this is the candidate whose middle name is not Hussein.

You know, I thought this emphasis on Americanism was hardly a coincidence, and I think very pointedly aimed at what some voters may have as Obama’s unusual ethnic background.

Now which is more cynical, McCain calling himself an American candidate — or suggesting dark motives for calling himself an American candidate?

Extreme Mortman’s exclusive Superdelegate Tracker (brace yourself for the logo)…

…  reports:

Minnesota’s new U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s endorsement today of Barack Obama and the news this weekend that Obama actually won the Texas primacaucus, 99 to 94, delegate-wise, is proof that Hillary Clinton faces an uphill mountain climb to her entitlement of the democratic nomination.

By that we mean a Mt. Everest mountain climb.

For a campaign dependent on the wisdom of the remaining 250 or so superdelegates, Jackie Calmes’ WSJ article today is dismal news:

“Since the ‘Super Tuesday’ primaries on Feb. 5, Sen. Obama has won commitments from 64 superdelegates and Sen. Clinton has gotten nine. Sen. Obama has a total of 217 superdelegates in his camp while Sen. Clinton has 250, and her margin has been shrinking with each week. Sen. Clinton would have several more in her tally, but they’re from Michigan, and delegates from Michigan and Florida won’t be seated — at least for now — because both states defied party rules and held their primaries earlier than permitted.”

Penn Patriot looks at Sen/ Bob Casey’s (D-PA) endorsement of Barack Obama and surmises:

if Obama continues to focus on chipping away at Clinton’s support in the conservative “T” he could end up surprising the pundits with a victory here in Pennsylvania.

Could be.  Although if Obama campaigns the way he bowled yesterday in Altoona, Pennsylvanians soon might be yelling, “Duck!  Pin!”

Thankfully he has some superdelegates to, ahem, spare.

Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio once said, “There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best.”

That quote is inscribed in the new Washington Nationals ballpark, which opened for business tonight in Major League Baseball’s first game of the season, against the Atlanta Braves.

Who else gave their best?  President Bush, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

It was a great toss to Nationals catcher Paul Lo Duca.  Just a bit high, but otherwise a fast pitch straight over home plate.  ESPN announcer Jon Miller remarked, “There have been lots of presidents who’ve thrown out the first pitch, but I don’t know anybody who’s done it better.”  And Joe Morgan said, “That’s the best I’ve ever seen, that’s some high heat.”
For those kids in the stadium tonight who’ve seen President Bush throw for the first time, he certainly gave his best.

(And the Nationals right now are beating the Braves 2-0 in the third inning.)