As problems go, this certainly would be a most welcome one

WASHINGTON - The headline read, "Twins add to Jolie, Brad frenzy.''

And for a painful 30 seconds, all I could try to squeeze out of my thick head was some explanation for why the two stars would be involved with Minnesota baseball.

This is your life after you've covered a sport for too many years.

As I ran through the National Mall on Thursday morning, passing one sorrowful monument and memorial after another, I was able to keep my mind on matters of genuine importance.

For at least a few minutes.

And then it was back to baseball, and the following dilemma popped into my head and found somewhere to stick:

If the Cubs or the White Sox win the World Series, who will receive them as president?

No, really, I decided, this could be a big problem.

The current president is a huge baseball fan and has numerous connections to the White Sox from his days as Texas Rangers owner.

And if the Cubs were to end the 100-year drought, with a story that big, you have to think he'd be interested in having them to the White House before he leaves town on Jan. 20, 2009.

So if either team takes home the trophy, it seems logical the president would want the victorious Chicago team to make sure the trip occurs in time for him to welcome them to Washington.

But this time, should the Sox go, it's quite possible Barack Obama will occupy the Oval Office. Since the mid-80s, Obama has considered himself a Chicagoan, and a South Sider at that.

He's a White Sox fan, and you have to wonder if he'd pressure White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf to wait for him just a few more weeks, until he takes the oath.

Obama's got healthy Chicago connections, one of whom is Mayor Daley, perhaps the most powerful White Sox fan known to man.

This is hardly new, as I used to see the mayor in the boxes at the old Comiskey when I was a vendor, long before he was king.

He loves the Sox, and if he tells the Sox to wait for Obama, then the Sox would have a hard time denying his appeal.

As for the Cubs, Obama would be nearly as interested, as a 100-year anniversary story will last for years, and the positive press is too good to pass up.

Cubs fan or not, Obama - or any politician - would want that photo opportunity, especially after taking office just days before the visit.

Further complicating matters for Obama, it probably has to occur before spring training because no one wants a 10-hour round trip from Arizona for a 30-minute East Room reception.

On the other hand, if the President of the United States invites you to his home, whether you like him or not, it's respectful to show up - unless maybe you're Ozzie Guillen and you've got vacation plans.

So if President Bush wants the Cubs or the Sox in his building before he jets back to Texas, can you say you're waiting for the next guy?

Politics aside, baseball considers it impolite to turn down the president.

In any case, that was my Thursday morning, and it weighed heavily on my feeble mind as I stumbled through D.C.

I then began to laugh at the expense of the poor folks in charge of both clubs who will be at the center of a nasty political fight for a victorious Chicago baseball team.

You may be thinking I've gotten a bit ahead of myself on this one, since, of course, it's only the all-star break and nobody's won so much as a division yet.

When it comes down to it, even if the determination causes worldwide debate and a political firestorm, all in all, knowing what we've been through in Chicago baseball for the last 190 years, it would be a nice problem for the White Sox or the Cubs to have.

Wouldn't it?

brozner@dailyherald.com

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