Obama On Beer-Drinking Question: 'Come On, Man'

Chicago Tribune:

Barack Obama, defending his beer-drinking credentials, says his party's ticket won't be out-blue-collared by the Republican ticket with the union and hunting family on it.

John McCain runnng-mate Sarah Palin's husband is a member of the United Steelworkers' Union, Obama was reminded in an interview aired by CBS' 60 Minutes. "Blue collar guy. Got a son on the way to Iraq,'' interviewer Steve Kroft told Obama. "It seems like just the kind of person who would appeal to voters in states that you absolutely have to win, And they have to win."

...

""But you tried really hard to reach these people,'' Kroft pressed. "You went and sipped beer, which I know you don't particularly like - I mean you even...

"Steve, I had a beer last night,'' Obama interjected. "I mean, where do these stories come from, man?"

Read the whole story: Chicago Tribune

Comments

[vincefango]

05:50 PM on 09/08/2008

Since when did one's beer drinking status matter for anything outside of high school and college? It seems lots of people voted for Bush because they thought they'd like to sit have a beer with him (even though he is a recovering alcoholic) and we have all seen how that decision turned out. So he likes beer or doesn't like beer...who cares? I think he likes people, and that's more than I can say about the current administration and the current GOP ticket.

[ccpostman]

01:03 AM on 09/03/2008

I hope that is an American beer he is drinking...

Like a Sam Adam's, Sierra Nevada, or how about a Abita TurboDog from Louisiana!

Speaking of Louisiana. Is does anyone know if the Tabasco company ok? The storm looks like it went over Avery Island, Louisiana where Tabasco is located.

[Bettysdad]

09:57 PM on 09/02/2008

"Where do these stories come from?"

They're made up by people like Kroft, and others in the MSM.

[ProfGonzo]

07:18 PM on 09/02/2008

Obama drinks beer. He even drinks the occasional beer at home. He says so in "The Audacity of Hope," which I finally read this weekend.

I think he even drinks beer while he watches sports! How unusual for an American male of his age.

So out of touch, am I right? ;)

[RobinSeattle]

07:19 PM on 09/02/2008

Only elitists drink beer.

[clearthinker2008]

05:31 PM on 09/02/2008

"Have a beer with" is just a code for he's not like us and he'll hand our Country over to the terrorist.

[drkazmd65]

02:24 PM on 09/02/2008

I have started a batch of 'Election '08" homebrew beer - and I invite President Obama and VP Biden to join me in sharing a bottle or two come November 5, or their earliest convenience afterwards in celebration of that victory.

"Beer is proof that God loves us and Wants us to be Happy."
- Ben Franklin

[MoeSart]

02:20 PM on 09/02/2008

Yeah, Mr. Football Stadium is a real regular guy. Real blue collar.

Yep.

[Charles1Goodwin]

02:58 PM on 09/02/2008

Yeah, we filled another stadium for him in Columbus, Ohio (actually a suburb, called Dublin). 19,000 supporters, not delegates, on the opening day of Ohio State football (if you are from central Ohio, you know the signifigance of that). The stadium only seats 8,500, so the rest stood. Obama has the ability to inspire people. This has been missing from our national politics for so long, that people are afraid of it now that they are seeing it again.

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=280818-1&showVid=true

http://www.dublinvisit.org/businessdetail_view.asp?bid=68

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/08/31/copy/obama31.ART_ART_08-31-08_A1_RPB6H1F.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

[RobinSeattle]

07:25 PM on 09/02/2008

Yeah, G.W. Bush and John McCain have only gotten where they are because they had daddies or a wife that could help them out. Obama is the son of a single mother while slacker Bush got into Yale because he was a Bush and slacker McCain got into the Naval Academy because he was a McCain. Obama had to rely on student loans to get through college. Bush and McCain only had to rely on their names.

Then McCain's wife made him a Senator.

Yep, G.W. Bush and John McCain---two real blue collar guys.

As the son of a machinist and nurse and the grandchild of a steel mill worker and the nephew of truck drivers, I can really see Bush and McCain as being just like me.

Or not.

[drkazmd65]

10:05 AM on 09/03/2008

Mostly the 'Not' part RobinSeattle.

And I can say that as the son of a (now retired) factory worker and a hairdresser/children's librarian - both of whom were raised on the family farms.

McCain is as 'blue collar' as I am a social conservative. In other words,... NOT.

[StephenDedalus82]

12:22 PM on 09/02/2008

The people demanding beer-drinking as a qualification for the presidency are the same people who thought W. was the better man to have a beer with, even though he's a nondrinking ex-alcoholic. I say we let these people have their own president, and he can swill bud lite to his heart's content or shoot rodents from his truck bed or whatever those real americans do.

[abouttime]

03:53 PM on 09/02/2008

Note: a beer drinking ex-alcoholic Is an alcoholic!
Moderation in all things - all is sacred and excess is abuse that will be paid for by failure to treat yourself with respect and honor.

[DieHardObamaSupporter]

10:05 AM on 09/02/2008

The idea to even refer to beer drinking as a credential is f*ing stupid.

[rollingdivision]

07:40 AM on 09/02/2008

Obama is a self admitted illegal drug user, cocaine and more and suffers from addictive behaviors. It would be surprising if he didn't drink beer.

[LemonMeringue]

08:54 AM on 09/02/2008

Most normal guys drink beer. I would think it weird if he didn't drink beer.

[KBAR]

09:37 AM on 09/02/2008

With an 8 Ball chaser?

[drkazmd65]

02:21 PM on 09/02/2008

Dude,... he admitted to trying these drugs back as a teen / early 20's guy. That was quite a bit more than 20 years ago.

Last I checked - after (reportedly) staying away from illegal drugs for more than a decade or two one generally should not be referred to as a user of drugs in the present tense.

Our current President is a known alcoholic that (supposedly) hasn't drunk alcohol in over 20 years. There are stories that he also used cocaine during his youth in the 1960s and 1970s. Do you refer to President Bush currently as a self-admitted drunk or illegal drug user? If not,.. then move along troll.

[MadJeffersonian]

12:35 AM on 09/02/2008

As long as Obama isn't drinking a "position altering tonic" from the extreme left, I don't care what he drinks.

In discussions with some of my co-workers, my argument is most Americans are either left-of-center or right-of-center, depending upon the issue. When you watch the news, all we hear from and hear about are the extremes.

McCain (2008) and Palin offer the extreme right positions on a variety of issues. McCain (2000) was a lot closer to the center than what he is today. He has gladly accepted a "position altering tonic" from the extreme right. Rove was the barkeep.

[WFV]

09:51 PM on 09/01/2008

When he wins, I will drink beer on his behalf, ok?

The beer consumption quota will be reached, I promise.


Next!

[Freesia2]

01:06 AM on 09/02/2008

I'll help! Drinking beer is the least I can do for my country. My patriotic duty. I suppose we should make sure it's domestic brew.

(What a metric for choosing a president. How much beer he drinks. It's enough to make a person want to get drunk.)

[izAriver]

09:43 PM on 09/01/2008

This is just f*&(*%^ stupid.

[Sabreen60]

10:21 PM on 09/01/2008

Yes it is. I don't like beer - never have. I don't like wine either. So what does that make me. How in the world do you judge someone on what he/she likes to drink/????

[JerryTheAngel]

08:49 PM on 09/01/2008

If Senator Obama doesn't pull an Al Gore in the 1st debate, he's home free. It's over.

[ApolloniaCreed]

06:39 PM on 09/01/2008

Not that it matters, but why would the interviewer assume he doesn't like beer?