Obama Mustard Attack Becomes Full-Blown Right-Wing Talking Point

Obama Mustard Attack Becomes Full-Blown Right-Wing Talking Point

Egads. This whole Dijon mustard thing is turning into a far bigger and more ridiculous thing than I suspected when I warned yesterday that it might become a big and ridiculous thing. Take a look at this dweeb's website! This guy really does believe he's working the Pentagon Papers story, or something! And this is a Cornell law professor. Yeesh. Not since the Battle of Ypres have so many people choked on so much mustard gas!

Here's some more talking heads being mustard-ed:

Anyway, Media Monitor Dylan Z. helpfully points out that Barack Obama's preference for Dijon mustard was disclosed to the public a LONG time ago, in a little known book titled The Audacity of Hope. In it, Obama describes sitting down to eat at a Chicago restaurant with Dan, a guy with strong political-hack tendencies:

"... On the drive down, we stopped at a TGI Friday's and I ordered a cheeseburger. When the waitress brought the food I asked her if she had any Dijon mustard. Dan shook his head.

'He doesn't want Dijon,' he insisted, waving the waitress off. 'Here' - he shoved a yellow bottle of French's mustard in my direction - 'here's some mustard right here.'

The waitress looked confused. 'We got Dijon if you want it,' she said to me.

I smiled. 'That would be great, thanks.' As the waitress walked away, I leaned over to Dan and whispered that I didn't think there were any photographers around."

As Dylan points out: "So, President Obama does like his cheeseburgers with Dijon mustard, and now we have proof that he's willing to say so even when there are plenty of photographers around." Exactly. And even make jokes about it, too. But, sad to say, this Dan fellow has only been proved correct this week. Dylan puts it best: "It appears Dan was right. His opponents are really that small, petty, and ridiculous that they'll try to make an issue out of it."

Also, David Frum -- you know, the noted Francophile philosoph - has pretty succinctly noted that eating mustard on cheeseburgers is the American thing to do.

I think we shall sum up this chapter of our lives in America with the words of Alex Balk:

Grey Poupon is owned and manufactured by Kraft Foods. It is the processed cheese of mustards. It is the fucking Velveeta of faux-French products. Can we all shut the fuck up?

--The Awl, "People Are Idiots And Yet I Am Responding To This Idiocy," May 7, 2009.

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