The Onion is on point with an article titled
Long-Awaited Beer With Bush Really Awkward, Voter Reports. I would not diary something like this in most circumstances .. but my goodness .. the onion is killing me. I am dying of laughter and I need to share the joy.
WARREN, PA--Although respondents to a Pew poll taken prior to the 2004 presidential election characterized Bush as "the candidate they'd most like to sit down and have a beer with," Chris Reinard lived the hypothetical scenario Sunday afternoon, and characterized it as "really uncomfortable and awkward."
more on the other side ..
Reinard, a father of four who supported Bush in the 2000 and 2004 elections, said sharing a beer with the president at the Switchyard Tap gave him "an uneasy feeling."
"I thought he'd be great," Reinard said. "But when I actually met him, I felt real put off."
From what I have seen of Bush on TV, he would freak me out too .. I've never understood how a person could look at him and think "trustworthy." The man is proof of evolution. He shares a common ancestry with the weasle.
"When he first walked in, everything seemed fine," bartender Bob Kern said. "He told everyone 'Hi' like he was one of the regulars, then sat next to Chris."
Reinard ordered two Budweisers, but Bush interrupted him, saying he'd prefer an O'Doul's non-alcoholic beer.
"I completely forgot he stopped drinking," Reinard said.
i am on life-support. o m g
Bush asked Reinard if he had any hobbies, and Reinard told the president that he enjoys spending weekends with his children on local lakes in his small aluminum boat.
"Mr. Bush, I mean George, seemed to like that, and I felt that we finally made a connection," Reinard said. "But then he started telling me about this one time he was on a yacht with some Arab prince and they spent four hours landing a sailfish."
"It was a good story, but I just like catching a few bass with my kids is all," Reinard added. "I know he didn't mean to make me feel bad, but still."
it hurts, i am dying. let's get a picture in here!
Nice! Back to the story ..
Bush asked Reinard what he did for a living, and Reinard said he runs a small carpentry business.
"He asked me how it was going, what with the economy bouncing back. I said that if things didn't pick up soon, I was going to have to close up shop and work for my uncle in Youngstown," Reinard said. "George was quiet for a while after that. Then he told me about when his second oil company was going under. He suggested using my connections to get some outside investment capital."
"I don't have any connections," Reinard added.
When the conversation reached a dead end, Reinard and Bush were silent once again, their eyes tracking the game.
"We were sitting there watching the game, and some cheerleaders were up there waving their pompoms," Reinard said. "Then George mentioned that he used to be a cheerleader at Yale. I didn't know what to say to that one, so I just drank the rest of my beer real fast."
After nearly a minute of silence, Bush drained the remainder of his O'Doul's and wished Reinard goodbye, saying that he'd stay longer if he could, but had "some business to tend to."
"He shook my hand and smiled, said he had to run," Reinard said. "Something about a conference or a summit. It seemed like he was actually relieved to go."
and the real lesson is?
"Overall, it was okay, I suppose," Reinard said. " One thing's for sure, though--I still wouldn't want to have a beer with that stuck-up Kerry."