Cheney pimps the troops at Nationals game-- and still gets booed

Cheney, wearing a red Nationals warmup jacket, tossed a pitch that reached Nationals catcher Brian Schneider on one bounce.

The vice president, whose popularity is slumping along with that of President Bush, walked out on the field to cheering and booing from the near-sellout crowd. The boos appeared to be little louder than the cheers at RFK Memorial Stadium.

On the field with him were three U.S. servicemen, two of whom had been wounded in Iraq and a third who was injured in Afghanistan.

With public disapproval for Dick at more than 70%, I guess we should just be content that he wasn't kissing a baby, waving a giant flag, and wearing a NASA spacesuit at the same time.

UPDATE: Wow. I just watched this video clip of Cheney's appearance at Crooks & Liars, and I think the article was much more than fair in suggesting that "the boos appeared to be a little louder." I almost felt sorry for the guy. Think Progress reports that Fox News nixed the crowd noise in their report, opting to play it without sound. Big surprise there.

UPDATE (4/12): Several people who were in attendance are saying that the video does misrepresent the boo/cheer ratio of Cheney's appearance. You'll notice that the cameraman is with Cheney as he leaves the dugout and heads to mound. They're saying that the only cheers in the park were coming from right behind the dugout-- in seats reserved for Cheney's crowd. In short, the cheers actually sounded louder than they were because the mics were positioned there.

Also, the Washington Post reported that Cheney was booed for failing to get the pitch over the plate. The video (which also appears on their site) demonstrates that this is patently false. What's so hard about relating the facts, guys?

UPDATE (when will it end?): Think Progress writes that the WaPo has changed the article to acknowledge that the catcalls began before the pitch. But they still suggest that the boos were motivated by Cheney's bad throw. And they even managed to smuggle in a Bush compliment. Bizarre.