The Beer Summit

[aggienaut]

   So the so-called "White House Beer Summit" occurred today. As a beer commentator I would of course be remiss not to offer some analysis on this.

   However, it appears a number of different political commentary blogs have already thoroughly analyzed it, so instead I'll just point you to the best of those that I have found.

   The basic breakdown is this. Beer choices:

Barack Obama	Bud Light
Sgt. Crowley	Blue Moon
Professor Gates	Red Stripe

   For a summit on racial undertones, the choices were actually rather unfortunate. Red Stripe is a Jamaican lager, Jamaica being a country of almost entirely black population. Blue Moon, a product of the Coors brewing company, is a Belgian Ale ... specifically a Belgian White Ale. Hrmmmmmm oops.

   Anyway, the above linked more thorough review is worth the read in my opinion.


   There was also another one that didn't really say anything new except it had Gates' second choice (Beck's) and analysis of that ("Either way, while both in the lager/pilsner/watery camp, these beers exist at the polar ends of the brand spectrum, suggesting a bifurcated sense of self ... Having trouble choosing between a Red Stripe and a Beck's is like looking up from a menu and saying to the waiter, "I can't decide between the jerk chicken or the bratwurst." Or, in Professor Gates' case, I can't decide whether to politely ask you to leave my house, or threaten to blitzkrieg your career.")


   furzicle brought up another good point though. Upon hearing of this upcoming summit the heads of the various beer companies must have looked at eachother and said "holy shit there hasn't been so prominent a drinking of a few cold ones in this country in decades! We NEED to make sure it's OUR drink they're drinking!" So in rushes the beer lobby all up in everyone involved's business ... and voila Budweiser and Coors are each there.


Beer Summits: They Can Work For YOU
   Actually, long before today's famous incident, I was already making use of the political beer summit. Back in my student government days when I was the Chief Justice of the Associated Students of UC Davis (ASUCD was no small potatoe, they had a $9.8 million dollar budget!) I twice used "I'll buy you a beer" to diffuse major political tensions (such as when Senator Roy tried to impeach me!), and I distinctly remember telling my successor about the tactic's usefulness.

Comments

[chandrielle.livejournal.com]

Seriously. It's like something Teddy Roosevelt would have done. Well, not talking about race, but the sitting down with beers and discussing some politics or some shit. Because he was a cool mofo like that.

[nationelectric.livejournal.com]

Yeah! I would like to see this trend continue. "Hey, here's this big crazy issue that's got a lot of people whipped up into a frenzy." "Hey, I know, let's sit down and talk about it like adults." BRILLIANT!

Also, I like that Biden tagged along. We were speculating on that this morning. "Hey, Barack? I, uh, heard you're having a little thing this evening, and, uh, I just wanted you to know that I've, uh, got some koozies if you need them. No? Uh, well, you know I've got some sweet REO Speedwagon tapes..."

Biden's Drinking Habits

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

And apparently Biden had some non-alcoholic beverage. Is he a recovering alcoholic or a teetotaler or something?

Re: Biden's Drinking Habits

[nationelectric.livejournal.com]

Apparently so! From the hivemind:

"Negative impressions of drinking alcohol in the Biden and Finnegan families and in the neighborhood led to Joe Biden becoming a teetotaler.[7][21]"

[chandrielle.livejournal.com]

Okay, that just wins.

[nationelectric.livejournal.com]

Well, Joe Biden *is* America's sweetheart.

By the way, not to sound weird or nothin', but I notice you've got basically a ton of random photos on your lj. Ever check out riotclitshave? She might be up your alley.

[chandrielle.livejournal.com]

Awesome, thanks! If you're into the random pictures thing, you should check out breadcamesliced as well.

[nationelectric.livejournal.com]

Oh, awesome! Thanks!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Hey hey hey. She posts pictures she found on the internet -- I post pictures I took myself.

[nationelectric.livejournal.com]

Y'all should start a business!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

What sort of business?