I’m certainly not going to vote based upon a politician’s taste in food, but if mustard is a consideration then I did the right thing in voting for Barack Obama. Some right wing blogs such as Legal Insurrection and Gateway Pundit are upset about the mustard which Obama ordered on his well-publicized outing to Ray’s Hell-Burger. They complain that he ordered his hamburger with Dijon Mustard. One commenter claims that if you play the tape backwards he was asking for Grey Poupon Dijon as if that would be something bad. While I often order more exotic types from Zingerman’s for variety, Grey Poupon is my favorite mustard which is commonly available at supermarkets.
Only the authoritarian right would get so upset about the type of mustard which Obama requested. This goes along with their ideas on politically incorrect lettuce, wine, and cheese. With all their distortions of the meaning of freedom and the free market, I often think that many conservatives don’t understand what either really means. Many of them would feel more at home with the blandness of Stalinist Russia. Enforced conformity would alleviate many of their concerns. What is it about our freedom to choose and the variety of choices offered by the free market which many conservatives hate so much?
There are also accusations that MSNBC covered up the request for Dijon Mustard. I don’t know whether they did, but I’m far more concerned over the manner in which Fox news covered up far more important things, such as how George Bush lied the country into a war.
Gods, I loathe “He’s just a regular guy” photo-ops presented by dutiful reporters.
I prefer stone-ground brown mustard with seed chunks. And ordering a burger medium-well means you are willing to sacrifice taste for safety. Bleh. Give me mine medium-rare.
If it’s the kind of place that lets you pick the specific kind of mustard, WTF was he supposed to do? “Meh, just gimme anything, I don’t wanna seem picky?”
When I fix a burger myself I prefer either ranch dressing or BBQ sauce. Not a big ketchup/mustard fan.
But remember, if you thought George Bush tortured or manipulated intel to go to war, you were suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome. Now, critiquing mustard, that’s incisive political commentary!
I would like to know why it is a good use of a reporter’s time to watch the President eat a hamburger.
And the Reason blog article on this event quotes some lamer opining that it shows Obama is “in touch with the people”. http://www.reason.com/blog/show/133339.html
Fritz,
The story is of no real significance but clearly people are interested. I guess that this makes it a good use of a reporter’s time. It’s not like the White House press corps has much of a record for tracking down real news.
As I’ve said before, the whole White House Press Corps should be required to pay SAG dues.
Dijon mustard. Stone-ground brown mustard with seed chunks. Ranch dressing. BBQ sauce. Already we have a wide variety of choices being expressed. Fortunately we have the freedom to makes these choices, regardless of the views of the far right.
When I am Leader, condiments will be outlawed. Enjoy them while you can.
Jeff,
No way I’ll every vote for you (unless you manage to get in a two way race against Sarah Palin).
So Fritz – if you were leader would everyone be required to eat their burgers medium rare?! Sorry, I couldn’t vote for you. I like mine cooked, and it has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with a better taste – for me at least. Not only do I dislike the “regular guys” photo op, and the stupidity of the White House press corps, but I also dislike the “there’s only one way to eat meat argument!
It doesn’t matter what kind of mustard the president puts on his hamburger.
Because everybody knows mustard is for hot dogs! For a burger & fries, you need ketchup!
maybe if he called in freedom mustard…
you’d think that the GOP was so pathetic that even the mustard ads made them feel inadequate.
I first saw this, I thought it was satire. How hilarious to find out it’s real.
Deej — if you want to eat hockey pucks, then go right ahead.
The “cook it until it is gray and push a spatula on it until there is no juice left” motif is why I only eat hamburgers in places where I can specify doneness.
I find it interesting that some of the responses here chose to focus their critique on the White House Press corp rather than the overreaction by right-wing blogs.
You’ve never seen a blog comment section drift from the main topic before? There’s not all that much more to really say about the overreaction by right-wing blogs. Their absurd response speaks for itself. The comments on the press corps partially refers back to this post.
Fritz,
As long as you allow freedom of choice in how well done others make their hamburgers.
Grumpy,
I put both ketchup and mustard on hamburgers. We allow far more freedom of choice than those right wing bloggers. We also provide equal opportunity for all condiments.
G,
This just shows how hard it is to satirize the right. Any satire which has any degree of believability is generally topped by what they actually say.
Well, this IS the party that was so offended by the sight of Heintz ketchup that during their 2004 convention, New York restaurants took it off their tables. The GOP’s loathing for John Kerry, you see, also extended to his wife, and therefore also to the company that supplied her previous husband’s fortune.
Now, why the Republicans always feel compelled to hate the wife of an opposing candidate even more than they hate him, I don’t know, but I do know that for years our ever-vigilant media have been happily collaborating with them in treating choices of food as windows into the true soul of a politician. Never mind a man’s stand on the Iraq war — if he orders Swiss cheese instead of Cheese Whiz on his Philly Cheesesteak, he’s a hypocritical elitist. George Bush, true man of the people that he was, knew he should whiz on his cheesesteak. And Barack Obama actually uttered the word “arugula,” proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was out of touch with the people, even though he mentioned the price of arugula to farmers who grow it. God save us both from the GOP and from the Maureen Dowdification of public discourse.
Yes, but don’t liberal democrats like John Kerry get a quarter every time someone buys a bottle of Heinz ketchup?
Just joking. Actually Teresa is involved with the Heinz Foundation, not the ketchup business. Fascinating that Heinz was ok during Teresa’s first marriage but not during her second.
Somebody around here must remember the Wayne & Garth bit about Grey Poupon? (You know, two dimwitted morons criticizing someone as an elitist for using Grey Poupon.)
You know if we had real immigration control, those damned condiments would never have gotten into this country!!!
If you use condiments then the terrorists win!
dweb – Grey Poupon is made by Kraft Foods. The mustard comes from Canada, the wine from NY state. Nothing French here. So the repubs are chastising the President for supporting American corporations and mom & pop burger stands.
Myself, I prefer real Dijon, not the NAFTA kind. But Dijon on a nice medium-rare burger is a good thing.
BK11211 — I believe that almost all Dijon mustard is made from Canadian mustard seed. The French stipulate that the mustard must be ground in Dijon, not grown there.
Overcooked(Medium or beyond)=Communist
Dijon on a burger = exotic
Ketchup…On a burger??? Only if the cook doesn’t know what the hell he is doing
The perfect burger=Avocado(or guacamole), bacon, swiss cheese, onion, lettuce, grilled onion and thousand island for the sauce. If anyone cooks this work of art beyond medium rare, you will never hear the end of it.
I prefer my burger with brie cheese and pesto. I had this combination at a restaurant once and fell in love. What does this say about me?
Uh oh… This is turning into a foodie blog.
There is a brewpub near my home with great brewed-on-premises beers (Belgium style) and wonderful burgers — American Kobe beef (cooked to order), local craft blue cheese and artisan bacon.
Agreed. Ordering the burger medium-well… a far more egregious offense than the fou-fou French-esque sissy mustard option.
Man up, Mr. President. Eat some blood.
Please stop with the regular guy show. Pres. Obama and VP Biden should not do these side shows. Neither one is a regular guy and doing them is pure silliness. Pres. Obama looked like he could use his telepromper when ordering. Biden could not tell the difference between swiss and cheddar. Based on their ordering, America is in big trouble. Nice that Pres. Obama was flashing lots of cash.
Simon: by definition, no successful politician is a “regular guy”. Regular guys don’t seek that kind of power over people.
Fritz: Beligum-style, huh? They got a Tripel?
They have a really tasty Belgium-style beer with cherry. Yummy. They call it “Menage a Cherry”. And another Belgium style called “Menage a Trois”.
It’s Issaquah Brewhouse in Issaquah, WA. It’s owned by Rogue now, so you have the Rogue commercial beers plus the Rogue odd beers (like an Imperial pilsner), and four beers brewed on premises.
Damn, discussion of brewpubs and it was during the two months I was burnt out. I need to make sure to read this blog more religiously even when I’m not feeling like writing.
The best brewpub in the world is ‘Old Baldy Brewer’ in Upland, CA. They make their own stuff on premises (their Peach Ale is really good, very different from the usual beer one drinks and a very enjoyable change of pace) of course, and they also sell just about anything else you can think of… any major or mid-level domestic brand and very nearly any import one can get in the States, plus a good sample of American microbrews on top of everything else.
It was the first place I’d had Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, and I miss that damn beer.