Wow, it was just...could it have been just two days ago? that Candy Crowley had this to say:
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CROWLEY: Now, you all know that in election years, nothing goes unanswered. Nothing. But sometimes responses take a little while.
We want to begin this story about a year ago, when John Kerry went to Philadelphia and a famous cheese steak place called Pat's. There he ordered, of course, a cheese steak, but he ordered it with Swiss cheese. That's kind of a food faux pas in Philadelphia. You're supposed to order it with Cheez Whiz, maybe American, but Swiss cheese, definitely a faux pas.
Now who notices these kinds of things? As it turned out, the Bush campaign did. Did we mention that the president was near Philadelphia today?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH: You know, this is my 32nd visit to your state since I've been president. A lot of people wonder why I'm coming so much. It ought to be obvious to you; I like my cheese steak Wiz with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: There were also complaints at the time that John Kerry took dainty bites of his Philadelphia cheese steak. Unfortunately, the president did not get into that.
Ha ha! Unfortunately. Unfortunately for Candy, Bush was lying.
From Campaign Desk:
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In contrast to the bigfoots of the national press, Kathleen E. Carey of The [Delaware County, Pa.] Daily Times went beyond mere stenography and did a little leg work on the issue, as well she should. For, while it's certainly not in the top 100 critical campaign issues this election year, it's safe to say that the proper construction of a Philadelphia cheesesteak matters more to Daily Times readers than it does to a national audience.
And the intrepid Carey came up with her own expose. She reported that Bush actually "prefers his steak absent of the usual Cheez Whiz and provolone, accompanied only by cheese of the American variety," information that she obtained from her own Deep Throat, one Caeser Barnabei, the owner of the well-known cheesesteak shop, Jim's Place. Barnabei, who has fed the Bush camp on previous swings through Pennsylvania and provided "70 to 80 hoagies" for the Bush campaign yesterday, confided to Carey that "the Jim's Special is altered to whet the 'W' appetite."
In Philadelphia, the classic cheesesteak recipe is hot beef strips and fried onions dripping with grease, slathered with Cheez Whiz straight from the squeeze bottle, all atop white bread. Solemnly, Carey reported her devastating conclusion: "The commander-in-chief fooled thousands Tuesday to believe he eats like the epicureans here."
candy.crowley@turner.com
