By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis – President Bush visited St. Louis Monday to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Cardinals home opener against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Outside Busch Stadium, the president's critics used the visit to attack his economic policies.
Mark Fraley is with the Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition.
"Members of the Bush Administration have even said that taking jobs out of Missouri and moving them overseas is a good thing," Fraley said. "We think that jobs need to be created here in the United States."
But Bush supporters in the crowd said the president's tax cuts have helped the economy. Missouri House Speaker Catherine Hanaway said Missouri is an important place for the president to be in an election year.
"The fact that Missouri is an important state is one of the reasons that he's here, but his love of baseball, and his appreciation of good fans is certainly another big component," Hanaway said.
This is the first time a sitting president has visited Busch stadium.
The Cardinals lost the game 8-6.