What Would POTUS Eat?
I have a piece up today at Doublethink Online, the net version of the magazine that published my Anthony Bourdain profile/interview and article on Chicago’s foie gras ban.
In the article, I take a look at food on the presidential-campaign trail. A snippet:
I first became fascinated by the role food plays in presidential elections in 1992, when then-president George H.W. Bush, who the public perceived as out of touch with everyday America, was campaigning for a second term. Bush cemented the image when he appeared awestruck by a scanner during an appearance at a supermarket, and reinforced it when he was unable to correctly guess the price of a gallon of milk. Nor did it help Bush that his opponent, Bill Clinton, came off as an everyman who had likely committed the menus of McDonald’s, KFC, and Arby’s to heart.
If you dig politics, Brillat-Savarin, or the Saturday morning cartoons of the late 1970s/early 1980s, there’s probably something in it for you. Whole thing here.
Would-Be Prezzes and Supporters: Eaters All
Today’s NYT has a four-piece feature on how potential-voter dining habits correlate to support for a certain presidential candidate. Slate has kindly boiled down those four pieces into a paragraph:
[T]he NYT points out that each side is carefully analyzing how their potential supporters eat in order to target them as specifically as possible. The paper’s dining section compiled an interesting list of the overarching themes that can help identify supporters. For example, Clinton’s like fruit-filled cookies, while Obama’s, strangely enough, “intensely dislike vanilla wafers.” McCain voters are partial to Hardee’s, while Clinton’s like Church’s Fried Chicken, and Obama’s skewed toward Panera Bread. How about snacks? Clinton’s supporters prefer Newman’s Own Pretzels, McCain’s like Sun Chips, and Obama’s are partial toward Kettle Chips. Of course, exceptions are plentiful but these comparisons are more than a little addictive.
In other food news from the presidential trail, Cindy McCain is a recipe thief, Hillary drinks Canadian whisky, and Barack Obama’s mom was a one-time food stamp recipient.
All this political food talk reminds me that a friend (not Monica Lewinsky) once suggested a certain bodily fluid of Bill Clinton’s probably “tastes like BBQ sauce.”
