This might sound like a joke, but I'm deadly serious. 

I don't know if Barack is a baseball fan, but if he's not, he needs to start studying.  The team from his south side of Chicago, the White Sox, is leading the AL Central right now, and he needs to be ready to talk baseball when he is asked. 

I am a diehard democrat, but John Kerry almost lost me when he responded to a question about his favorite Red Sox player with - Manny Ortez.  For those of you who do not follow the Red Sox, it was an almagamation, and mutilitation of two of the best players on that team:  Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.  It was an obvious admission that he wasn't a fan, but was trying to play one on TV.  He looked like a fool, and I still hear the quote at least once a week on sports radio here in Boston. 

I can predict with confidence that someone will ask Barack about the White Sox on camera, and he better have a better answer than Manny Ortez. 

Again, this may sound like a joke, but a gaffe in this situation will be far worse than forgetting how many houses you own, since it will play right into the wheelhouse of the GOP's efforts to paint his as un-American, out of touch and elitist. 

I hope he is a legit Sox fan, but if not, I hope they already thought of this.  I don't want to see GOP ads with sad kids on baseball fields questioning if he really likes Mom and Apple Pie too...