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Sunday, November 28, 2004
Dubya at the diner
Try to imagine John F. Kerry in this picture. Any imaginable version would definitely call for a snarky caption.
Reuters' caption: "U.S. President George W. Bush shakes hands with diners at the Coffee Station restaurant near Bush's 1,600 acre ranch in Crawford, Texas, November 26, 2004. President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and the first lady's mother Jenna Welch enjoyed a post-Thanksgiving lunch at the small restaurant before returning to his ranch."
Note the "hat-hair" — Dubya's been wearin' his Stetson, but hung it up upon entering (probably on a deer-antlers hatrack). Grandson of a senator, son of a President, Yale College and Harvard Business School — but this is a man who's entirely comfortable, entirely at ease, meetin' and greetin' in a roadside diner. He wouldn't turn up his nose at a couple of scoops of cherry cobler served in an orange Melmac bowl, either. That his napkin was paper, and came from a stainless-steel dispenser next to the catsup bottle (note: Heinz), wouldn't bother this man a bit.
I know that drives my blue-state countrymen nuts. But it makes me feel like I understand this man, and that he understands me.
This past summer, I wished I'd had my digital camera with me while I was lunching at Otto's Bar-B-Que in Houston. Poppy Bush was two tables away, surrounded by guys with radio earpieces and wearing windbreakers with bulges under 'em — eatin' sauce-drenched beef ribs with his fingers. (Lotsa paper napkins came out of his stainless-steel tabletop dispenser that day.)
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Update (Sun Nov 27 @ 12:50pm): I have to admit that this photo of Dubya would be fair game for a snarky caption. Reuters' caption: "U.S. President George W. Bush walks to an APEC leaders group photo with Russian President Putin (R) in Los Naranjos courtyard in Santiago, November 21, 2004." Putin looks considerably more embarrassed.
Sorta brings to mind the photo of Calvin Coolidge wearing an Indian headdress:
Posted by Beldar at 12:19 PM in Politics (2006 & earlier) | Permalink
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» Why red state Americans love W from Commonwealth Conservative
Tracked on Nov 28, 2004 11:04:48 PM
Comments
(1) AH made the following comment | Nov 28, 2004 1:19:31 PM | Permalink
Putin also looks much more like the 5-year-old Slavic fairy in the school pageant.
(2) Mik made the following comment | Nov 28, 2004 7:46:45 PM | Permalink
Here is a picture of another great leader kindly talking to his little people:
www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/images/vil01.jpg.
Good night, Comrade Beldar.
(3) LazyMF made the following comment | Nov 28, 2004 10:15:19 PM | Permalink
Beldar, it's a good thing you encountered Poppy Bush at Otto's, his favorite place to dine with common folk. If you were behind him at the Kroger's self checkout lane, it might have been a different story.
(4) Whigfarmer made the following comment | Nov 29, 2004 1:43:04 PM | Permalink
It's amazing isn't it? Liberals deride W for being some rich elite snob and they liked Kerry better, (a richer elite snob) and then deride W for being a cowboy. They never could make up their minds. I can picture encountering W getting out of his pickem'-up truck to get a cup of 7-11 coffee and shaking hands with everyone he meets. I bet JFnK doesn't even know what a pickem'-up truck or a 7-11 is and he sure as hell wouldn't shake any hand that hasn't had a French manicure! Despite the education and money, W has alot more in common with ordinary people than the phoney JFnK can ever dream of and I think we are all much better off for it.
(5) capitano made the following comment | Nov 29, 2004 3:58:16 PM | Permalink
Prior to the election there was a common theme among lefty bloggers/commenters that W was "acting Texan" to win over voters. No doubt some assumed he would much rather be vacationing on Martha's Vineyard than clearing cedar on his ranch. Now that the election is over and W has no further political ambition, it will be interesting to see how they characterize it now.
It's apparently also difficult for non-Texans to understand why a rich, powerful person would rather eat BBQ served on butcher paper with white bread, in an un-airconditioned meat market than go to a fancy restaurant. Go figure.
(6) ed made the following comment | Nov 30, 2004 2:31:50 PM | Permalink
Hmmm.
"Beldar, it's a good thing you encountered Poppy Bush at Otto's, his favorite place to dine with common folk. If you were behind him at the Kroger's self checkout lane, it might have been a different story."
Urban myth. check it out. don't waste my time.
(7) LazyMF made the following comment | Dec 3, 2004 6:14:01 PM | Permalink
ed, you are right. That is one snopes.com article I never got to: http://www.snopes.com/history/american/bushscan.htm
capitano, Otto's serves their BBQ on plates in an air conditioned restaurant on Memorial Drive, minutes from River Oaks and Memorial, the most expensive neighborhoods in Houston.
The kind of BBQ you are talking about is served in the Texas towns of Lockhart, Luling and Llano. Anyone who ever tries that BBQ will understand why you want to eat it more than any other food. This is coming from someone raised on Kansas City BBQ.
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