WILMINGTON, Ohio (AP) – Curt Schilling hobbled onto a stage inside an airplane hangar to introduce President Bush for the first of two campaign appearances Monday.
The Boston Red Sox pitcher, who canceled a scheduled campaign stop with Bush in New Hampshire last week, saying he was unable to travel because of his ankle injury, is also endorsing the incumbent on automated phone calls in three battleground states.
Schilling wore a protective boot over the ankle as he and his wife, Shonda, made their way to the stage. He told thousands of supporters that they should elect a president who supports the troops “every step of the way.”
America needs “a leader who makes sure they have everything they need to get the job done, a leader who believes in their mission and honors their service, a leader who has the courage and the character to stay on the offense against terrorism until the war is won.”
“That leader is our commander in chief, George W. Bush,” Schilling said.
Later, in Burgettstown, Pa., just west of Pittsburgh, Schilling said he was proud to be a member of the championship team. Then he added: “I’m proud to be on a team with a more important mission – the team that’s going to get George Bush re-elected.”
After his sore ankle prevented him from attending Bush campaign rallies Friday, Schilling recorded endorsements that are being used through Election Day in New Hampshire, Maine and Pennsylvania.
Bush spokeswoman Nicolle Devenish said the pitcher “must have been feeling better. He reached out to our campaign and offered to help.”
Meanwhile, Democrat and Red Sox fan John Kerry countered the Schilling effect by recruiting the team’s principal owner, John Henry, part-owner Tom Werner and general manager Theo Epstein to appear with him Sunday at a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H.
Schilling endorsed Bush in a TV interview Thursday, a day after the Red Sox won the franchise’s first World Series in 86 years.
He won Game 2 of the World Series and Game 6 of the American League championship series with his ankle stitched to protect a torn sheath around a tendon. He’s expected to undergo surgery this week.
