The American Presidency has many small traditions attached to the office, some of which add to the pomp of the title, and others that allow Presidents to demonstrate the common touch. Among the latter are the connections to iconic sporting events, such as the call to the champions of major-league sports. The traditional congratulatory call gives a President the opportunity to add his name to the record of the celebration, perhaps no more so than with baseball, whose World Series now falls right before Election Days.

Well, Barack Obama did promise to bring change to the White House:

Was President Barack Obama too busy watching the “Operation Repo” marathon or something else last Friday night?

When KMOX host Charlie Brennan asked now-retired St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa how the traditional call of congratulations from the White House went, La Russa suddenly realized that…it never happened.

“That’s a good point, I hadn’t really even thought about that,” replied a surprised-sounding La Russa, who can be forgiven for having a few other things on his mind over the past week. … “We never did get a call,” La Russa said.

The worst part?  The First Lady attended Game 1, and the White House clearly anticipated that Obama would pick up the phone to call the clubhouse.  They called ahead to make sure they had the right number.

Perhaps Obama wants to start a new tradition?  He stiffed the San Francisco Giants last year on the call, too.  But, heck, California is going to vote for Obama anyway, right? Does anyone think San Francisco will hold that slight against Obama?  Not a chance.  However, I understand that Missouri might not be an easy state for Democrats in 2012, and I don’t think the snub will help Claire McCaskill much, either.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!