It's difficult to keep politics out of sports and vice versa, but that doesn't mean we have to like it when they overlap.

Sometimes, as with Jackie Robinson crashing the color barrier in baseball, it's a good thing. Often, the crossover seems out of place.

Politics and sports make for uneasy partners, probably because they're so much alike. They're both fueled heavily by money, marketing and big mouths, polls, points and payoff pitches.

If the early months are an indication, sports will have a prominent place on the sideline of the 2004 presidential campaign. President Bush included a non sequitur rant about steroids use in sports in his State of the Union address, a speech New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady watched as an invited guest.

Now the candidate appearances have begun.

We had the leading Democratic contender, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, playing hockey with former NHL luminaries. At least, he was actually playing the sport as we saw from plenty of news footage.

Last weekend, we had Bush grabbing face time at the Daytona 500. He didn't actually slip into a cockpit for some laps, but he glad-handed in the pits and talked about how much he liked speed.

Out of Bush's trip came the latest buzz phrase for this campaign -- NASCAR dads.

It's a group loosely defined as white, middle-aged men from the South or Midwest who are essentially conservative but might be swayed to vote for a Democrat in November.

That's right. Bush was stumping for the good ol' boys.

Never mind that NASCAR officials estimate that women account for 40 percent of the fan base. They had their day. Remember the soccer moms who were so important to the Democrats in the 1990s?

Although it's pretty much lost on me, auto racing apparently has outgrown its image as a beer-soaked sport that appeals mainly to those who love country music and don't care much for dentists. Whatever the fans' makeup, there are scads of them, and Bush covets their votes.

Perhaps it's not surprising that Bush would bring sports into the political field.

He formerly owned the Texas Rangers. He even commented during the Daytona race that he liked the looks of the blockbuster trade that sent megabucks infielder Alex Rodriguez from the Rangers to the New York Yankees.

It's certainly not unprecedented for presidents to attend major sporting events such as the World Series, or to play host to championship teams at the White House. And sporting events were steeped in patriotism and provided a nice backdrop in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The latest fusion of sports and politics seems different. It could be the start of orchestrated efforts by candidates to target specific groups by linking them to a sport.

Gentlemen, start your sports demographic campaigns.

On the surface, it's not a bad theory. One of my first journalism professors told us on the first day of class that every reporter should be conversant in sports because it's a great ice-breaker that helps make people feel comfortable and included.

Politicians should do their homework, though, unlike the first President Bush. When the Penguins trekked to the White House in 1991 to celebrate their first Stanley Cup championship, he turned to accept a jersey from Mario Lemieux and said, "And you are ...?"

It's a bit distasteful to be pigeonholed politically based on the sports we like. It puts candidates in the position of stereotyping. If a candidate wants a bigger share of votes from black Americans, does he show up at NBA games? If he's not doing so well among seniors, does he make a few trips to the dog and horse tracks?

All in all, let's hope this latest crossover between politics and sports is just a phase. Sports have enough issues to work through.

If they insist, then besides the NASCAR dads and soccer moms, candidates could find other sports-related groups to woo.

There are the football widows, too.

And overbearing high school parents seem to be plentiful and cut across all segments of society, but they might be too preoccupied with living vicariously though their athletic offspring to follow the political issues closely.

There are smaller special interest groups to target, such as the Martha Burk golfing fan club, the Cleveland Browns Dog Pound, the Wrigleyville rooftop gang, Al Martin's wives, the Williams sisters and the Barber twins.

Too bad the Sutter brothers are Canadian.