Mark McGwire damaged his Hall of Fame chances by repeating eight words 22 months ago on national television before a Congressional committee.

“I’m not here to talk about the past,” a bespectacled McGwire said over and over on March 17, 2005, when asked about steroid use. Now, his past won’t be recognized in Cooperstown for at least another year.

For those who were in room 2154 of the Rayburn Building that day, yesterday’s announcement that McGwire received only 23 percent of the vote was no surprise but a validation of that hearing’s purpose.

“At the time, a lot of people questioned whether the hearing would be worthwhile,” said Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), a member of the House Government Reform Committee.

“I believe we should have gone forward with legislation. But this shows you can accomplish things without legislation.”

Next to McGwire, Donald Hooton’s testimony that day may have been the most memorable. Hooton attributes his son Taylor’s suicide to steroid use. He now runs The Taylor Hooton Foundation, which educates children about steroid use.

“The main thing is we’ve had the opportunity to send another signal to the kids that use of performance-enhancing drugs is not going to be rewarded,” Hooton said. “This doesn’t address the larger problem, but it’s one victory along the way.

“I’m quite pleased with the way the sportswriters have dealt with this one.”

Many Hall of Fame voters pointed to McGwire’s testimony that day as a deciding factor in their voting. His non-denials seemed to many as an admittance that he used steroids to hit some of his 583 home runs.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Souder said of McGwire’s testimony. “You’re not here to talk about the past? That’s what we do in an oversight committee. All you do is talk about the past. We figure out what happened so that it doesn’t happen again.”

McGwire also promised on that day to help educate young athletes about the dangers of steroids. He did donate money to the Hooton Foundation but never has volunteered his time. McGwire has not contacted Donald Hooton directly since the hearing.

“Nothing’s changed,” Hooton said yesterday.