[janeemljr]

This isn't like inviting the Super Bowl or the World Series winners to the White House, where the group functions pretty much as a team in season and out, and often visit the White House while their seasons are in play. This is NASCAR, and if you look at its history, drivers seldom are expected to do anything together outside of race and commercials within their ownership groups or NASCAR's official sponsors.

When you give somebody about a week's notice on something, when you have such atight schedule as NASCAR drivers, it's often hard to change plans. Let's not forget either that Edwards, Biffle and Stewart are the three of the four not attending this year who did attend the same function in 2009. Only Harvick seems to be the no-show.

And let's be honest, if just one of the drivers attending complained about having to go to the event, you'd blame Obama for making them attend, just as you complain about so many functions which aren't strictly related to governing.

And note I say three of four: Busch is scheduled to attend. The writer, in all his slanted attempts at the slam, didn't bother to check his facts that Busch was only speculated to not show up, or that he is in fact expected to be there. I know news sometimes travels slowly in them thair hills. But "nearly half not attending" doesn't sound as venomous as "two-thirds are attending," which is the obvious point the writer is trying to make.

My question is why did Bush ignore NASCAR so from 2001-2008? The champions were honored in the years before Bush, and during Obama's tenure, but not during the Bush years. And Bush honored the champions of the other major sports in the country during his time in office. I can only guess Bush was embarassed by NASCAR? I'd like the author's opinion on that.