WaPo
The world's most powerful man, and the guy a heartbeat away, waited patiently in a single-file line as the lunch crowd gawked -- and as two customers in front of them at the counter pondered the menu leisurely, apparently oblivious to whom they were holding up. Then it came time to order.
[...] "Your basic cheddar cheeseburger, medium well."
No ketchup, the president said, but lettuce and tomato. And: "Have you got a spicy mustard or somethin' like that? A Dijon mustard?"
A guy can order whatever he wants to eat, of course, but mustard only on a cheeseburger? It sounds so...so...French! I'm surprised the wingnuts haven't picked up on that as elitism. Remember how they climbed his frame for liking fancy lettuce? Remember how they accused John Kerry of elitism for ordering a very slightly non-standard Philly cheesesteak? The wingtard gasbags are slippin' up here by missing a cheap and easy, not to mention fact-free which is their specialty, shot at him. Thank God he had better sense than to order this one or they'da had him:
...the $17.50 burger with foie gras and white truffle oil.
Biden ordered a Swiss cheeseburger with jalapeno peppers and ketchup, medium well, and a root beer.
Now yer talkin'! Not bad for an East Coast guy, Joe. That's pretty much how I like 'em too, but then I like 'peños on my oatmeal. Actually, I go for the poblano/'peño/pepper jack/guacamole model with a slice of red onion and Thousand Island dressing. I take off the lettuce and eat the tomato on the side. It's called the 'Baja Burger' at my local Young Gentlemen's Drinking & Fighting Establishment, comes with a choice of fries, onion rings, or cole slaw. We'll go there when you're in town.
Ray's doesn't do fries, said the guy behind the counter, Tim Murray. But Murray suggested the president try "Cheesy Tater Puffs," which are pureed potatoes with cheddar cheese and chives flash-fried like Tater Tots. Obama looked skeptical, but asked for one order for him and Biden to share.
Sounds good! Sounds like a heart attack. They've got a good health care plan.
Obama and Biden went Dutch -- basic cheeseburgers cost $7.95 -- as each pulled a wad of cash from his wallet to pay. But Obama bought burgers for reporters, cameramen and staff, including personal aide Reggie Love. "We're paying, or these people are gonna write about how we're freeloading," Obama said, pointing to members of the press corps, whom he dismissed as "cheap dates."
That's just short of callin' 'em whores! Heh. Nice touch, Mr. President! Of course, like all the good easy ones the press corpse expects to get fed first...
The president left $5 in the tip jar.
I even heard one of the wingnut gasbags say that was cool, and it is. Mrs. G's Mom put her through college on her waitress tips, and I'm a pretty good tipper as a result, mostly to avoid THE LOOK from Mrs. G, but I've never put five bucks in a 'tip jar' in my life. Points for Barry on that one.
Yolanda Pineda, 29, manned the grill and cooked the burgers with special care. "For Obama," she said, "especial!"
There's a host of social implications in that simple sentence, but I'll skip 'em all and just say that I like my restaurant meals cooked by Latinos. I don't mean at all to sound any kind of racist, but those folks are good cooks.
Bonnie Cosby, 51, a technology consultant who picked up burgers on her way home from work, opined: "It shows that he's in touch with the people, that he's not up in the ivory tower. He's a real person -- with a burger."
It was a great PR stunt to show Barry and Joe's common touch, and probably a pretty good lunch as well. A tip o' the Brain on this one, boys.
Update:
I am informed by a reliable old fart that Obama was indeed called 'elitist' for his use of mustard with actual flavor in it. Hannity. Figures. What an asshole.
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