Of baseball and enhancement bondage

Baseball fans around the nation have been conducting their own straw poll about human enhancement, and they don't like it. Rafael Palmeiro has practically been driven out of the game, Mark McGwire is now seen as more cartoon than hero, and Jason Giambi is treated with widespread derision.

Then there is Barry Bonds.

Bonds is -- as usual -- a lightning rod for everyone's feelings, a walking paradox who illustrates without even trying just how complex these issues are. He told reporters before his first game in Washington, D.C., that there are more serious issues than steroids, but all that did was increase the hype about his appearance. And he lived up to it.

Bonds getting booed is not unusual in a road game. But in Washington, he was booed by fans who were on their feet as he homered to the upper deck -- clapping at the same time they were jeering. Whether they were right or wrong about Bonds (who denies ever knowingly taking illegal substances), there couldn't be a more dramatic illustration of the conflicts we feel...