During the 2008 presidential campaign NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France invited candidates John McCain and Barack Obama to a race. John and Cindy graciously attended in New Hampshire, but bicycle-loving Barack was a “no show.”

In an article entitled “Don’t assume all NASCAR equates to Republican,” Raygan Swan concluded that Obama failed to attend because “Obama’s brain trust chose to end associations with NASCAR, because the sport shares the same stereotypes as Republicans.”

Barack Obama’s people must have surmised that point because NASCAR races open with public prayer, are traditionally attended by flag waving, “smokin’ hot [pastor’s] wives” and everyone in attendance enthusiastically sings along to patriotic renditions of the national anthem.

Now, three-plus years later, on a typical Wednesday-is-Funday-at-the-White House, the President has plans to honor NASCAR champion/John McCain supporter Jimmie Johnson and the “11 other Chase drivers from last year in a White House ceremony.”

Ironically, in a week where scheduling problems are widespread, “nearly half of the 2010 playoff contenders won’t be there.” NASCAR claims that the five drivers – “Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart – will not be attending the White House visit due to ‘schedule conflicts.’”

In light of the jobs speech/Republican debate/NFL Football kerfuffle, who more than Obama should understand how schedules can upset the best-made plans? Apparently he doesn’t, because the President who lacked consideration for NASCAR in the past has become a schedule-stickler, demanding a level of consideration from others that oftentimes he refuses to extend to anyone else.

Between unemployment, the economy, and the general mood of the nation, Barack must feel like a political race car driver in an out-of-control vehicle with a stuck accelerator, traveling 200 miles per hour on Talladega’s Super Speedway.

To add insult to injury, first the President was banned from holding a joint session of Congress speech on Wednesday night, where he planned to tout his plan for job creation during a week where, for the first time in 66 years, it was announced that job growth was 0% for the month. Following that initial humiliation, Obama was then forced to postpone until the following night and is now scheduled to address a distracted audience anxiously awaiting to see the Green Bay Packers challenge the New Orleans Saints.

Now we come to find out that earlier that same day, the President was dissed by a quintet of NASCAR drivers who probably remember the President declining the invitation to a NASCAR race in 2008, and who would rather airbrush a vehicle than meet with Barry.

In the future, Barack Obama should spare himself the embarrassment and restore Wednesday to its original function as the night he and Michelle originally designated for weekly cocktail/Conga parties.

The White House’s response to having the invite declined by five guys in sunglasses and colorful jumpsuits was at best a tad off-putting. Tongue-in-cheek, a testy spokesperson acknowledged that “They must be very busy people.”

Following up with a defensive rebuke, a White House spokesperson maintained that “Regardless of one’s political views, the president is still the president – and an opportunity to speak with the leader of the free world is a rare and special one.”

Snippy, snide and sarcastically chiding the NASCAR no-shows, an irritated Obama advocate argued: “You’d think whatever photo shoots or sponsor appearances these drivers have lined up on Wednesday afternoon – if that’s indeed the reason – could be rescheduled. After all, this is the President of the United States we’re talking about here.” Ouch!

The truth is that, while not justifiable, White House causticity is understandable, especially after being barked off the hydrant after attempting to mark political territory by disregarding the Republican debate and scheduling a speech that should have been given weeks ago.

Either way, it’s not surprising that a typically patriotic group would turn down the President’s invite, but what is a little strange is that a White House that so recently had a very public struggle with a scheduling issue would react in such a huffy manner to an identical excuse.

Nonetheless, honorees Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth will attend. For the other five, if during his Thursday night job-creation speech the President should happen to mention creating jobs for car mechanics, in the future it might be wise to know who’s hanging around the pit stop, tightening the lug nuts on the cars of the drivers who chose to respectfully decline the President’s invitation.

Seems in this weekend’s House deficit-cutting exercise, public media got a haircut – federal subsidies for PBS will end if the House budget holds sway.  Not surprisingly, PBS (and all its supporters in the media, blogosphere, twittersphere and on Capitol Hill), were freaking out.

As one series of highly organized “grassroots” tweets trilled:

RT @jcstearns: New House budget will NOT fund #pubmedia, #netneutrality, #epa but WILL fund gov sponsorship of Nascar http://nyti.ms/eOEgNk via @aschweig

The DoD’s NASCAR recruiting and marketing campaigns – at about $15 million in all – survives, but PBS’ $430 million gets axed.  “Say, what?!!!”  That just isn’t right, Free Press’ Josh Stearns seemingly tweet-claims.

Perhaps Josh is on to something – that is, what’s right.  Putting on my class warfare hat for a moment, how is it right that the rich have had this subsidy for so long?

Many American’s have long-known PBS’ upper-crust focus.  Inside the beltway, it’s kind of a perennial joke (or thorn in one’s side, depending on your point of view).  The $430 million in annual federal funding – representing about 15% of PBS’ budget (they get most of their support from private sources) – is just one of those subsidies that the media and intellectuals endlessly admonish the rest of us to stop worrying about.  At $1.50 per American, per year, it’s a steal.  And besides, it helps kids, the disadvantaged, minorities, etc.

Yet, when you look at who’s actually watching PBS, and the shows they air, another picture emerges.  According to this document, 73% of the audience watching any given PBS show makes household income of $75,000 or more (with 37% of the audience actually making more than $125,000).  In comparison, Census Bureau statistics show median household income in America is just shy of $50,000.

Of course, if you’re wanting for a diversity of PBS / NPR programming on states’ rights, or the right to bear arms, or the constitutional conflict to our liberties presented by the new healthcare law – you’d be hard-pressed to find much of that there.  I guess that’s what Fox is for.

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I hate football. Not as much as I detest baseball and basketball and NASCAR, but the mere thought of sitting in a stadium watching a football match or game or whatever it’s called makes me dream of the sweet release of death. So when I heard that Rush Limbaugh wanted to buy one of these teams or crews or squadrons or whatever they are called, I shook my head. If I had a couple hundred loose mil to spend, it would be on a tropical island, not a bunch of ‘roided-up dudes bashing into each other and preempting my favorite shows. But its Rush’s money and this is America.

Well, it was America. Apparently, that’s changed in the last few days because now it appears that Rush cannot be allowed to spend his own money as he wants to because his political views are unsatisfactory. He’s conservative, and therefore the rights, privileges and immunities or any other American citizen no longer appear apply to him. Just ask Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), who urged the NFL not to allow Rush’s bid to buy some team (The Rams? The Raiders? The Yankees? I really don’t follow this stuff).

Let me get this straight, because this is more disturbing than the thought of having to attend a hockey doubleheader: An American political leader is demanding that a private business not do business with an American citizen because she does not approve of his politics.

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