Obama tells Jay Leno he may root for Detroit Tigers in World Series
Obama Tells Jay Leno He May Root for Detroit Tigers in World Series
Washington — President Barack Obama said he may back the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.
Obama said on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on Wednesday he may support the Tigers, even though they defeated his favorite team — the Chicago White Sox — in the American League Central division.
“I will say, I’ve spent a lot of time in Detroit lately, and I didn’t want to let Detroit go bankrupt. So in this particular World Series, I might be a little partial,” Obama said in comments taped before the Tigers lost the opening game of the series, 8-3, to the San Francisco Giants.
While the president has spent a lot of time talking about Detroit, he hasn’t visited Detroit since September 2011, when he spoke at a Labor Day rally, and last visited Michigan on April 18, when he held fundraisers in Dearborn and Bingham Farms. The president has visited Michigan 11 times since taking office, but only visited the Motor City twice since becoming president.
Obama also visited Detroit as president in July 2010 to tour General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC factories in the city, but he had no public events.
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has publicly challenged Obama to return to Detroit more often.
“People say Detroit is important to this administration. OK, prove it by coming here,” Bing told reporters at a breakfast meeting of Michigan delegates in Charlotte, N.C., last month.
Obama spent much of his first months in office dealing with the $85 billion auto bailout, and has made his decision to rescue GM and Chrysler a cornerstone of his re-election efforts. In this week’s third and final presidential debate, he noted rival Mitt Romney’s opposition to the auto bailout.
“The people of Detroit don’t forget,” Obama said.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121025/POLITICS01/210250393#ixzz2AP5a4nxS