A metaphor for the health-care bill: He got the job done, but it’s appalling from start to finish and ends up way, way too far to the left. Even The One can’t spin it as a B+:

“I was a little disappointed by the pitch,” Obama said from the announcers box during his post-pitch analysis, “It was a little high and outside. I was intentionally walking the guy. But fortunately Zimmerman is a tall guy and had enough reach.”

Watching a slow motion playback of his pitch delivery, the president said that his problem was that he just released the ball a little too early and high – contrary to his practice rounds at the White House earlier in the week.

“You know what breaks your heart on these; you’re down there practicing, throwing a punch, throwing strikes. Heat. Come out here, the thing slips out of your hand a little bit. It’s heartbreaking.”

The president predicted that if he had a whole inning, he’d “clean up”.

The crucial difference between this pitch and his far superior offering at last year’s All-Star Game? No mom jeans this time. The khakis took him out of his comfort zone.

Even so, I’m feeling well disposed to him today and not just in a “let he who is without cooties cast the first stone” sort of way. For one thing, go watch HuffPo’s lowlight reel of history’s worst first pitches. This could have been a lot worse. Better still, when he visited the announcers’ booth during the game and was asked to predict tonight’s NCAA winner, he picked the hated Blue Devils, thereby hitting them with the full force of the Obama jinx. Deeds, Corzine, Coakley … Krzyzewski? Cross those fingers, my friends. Exit warning for Deval Patrick: Look out!