I’m visiting with family right now and just had the following conversation with my uncle, who listens to a fair amount of right-wing radio (mostly local Boston stuff, though, not usually Rush) and often repeats crazy things to me he’s heard on the radio:
Uncle: Why were they giving Obama a hard time about that burger he ordered the other day?
Me: He asked for spicy mustard.
Uncle: Like brown mustard or grey poupon?
Me: Yeah.
Uncle: And they made a big deal of that? God help us, huh?
My uncle is right in that sweet-spot of the mostly mythical cranky, blue collar voters whose votes are up for grabs (voted for Bush at least once, voted for Obama in 2008). When even he is mystified by the stupidity of an attack, it means it didn’t work.
neil
Why does DougJ’s uncle hate America?
zmulls
You misled your uncle.
Listen to the tape again. He asks first for spicy mustard, but then qualifies it, asking if they have “you know, dijon or something”.
(See how cleverly he throws in “or something” to make it seem like it’s no big thing, when he obviously is jonesing for some dijon).
If he had only asked for spicy mustard, this wouldn’t be an issue.
And the fact your uncle made that connection dijon=spicy shows how brainwashed he is by the media.
DougJ
Ha!
gex
Hopefully our long national nightmare of rejecting democrats for their mustard or not wearing socks is nearly over.
Bill Belichick
That’s exactly backwards zmulls. He clearly asked for Grey Poupon while the cameras were rolling, to placate the base. But when no one was looking he switched to the neon yellow stuff in the plastic squeeze jug.
It doesn’t matter, it’s a zero sum game. For every moon bat he lost he picked up a wingnut. What does matter is that the media has some news we can use to report on, so they can sell their ads.
TenguPhule
The obvious solution is to double down and go for broke betting on a river card.
SpotWeld
I’m just waiting for the episode of Glenn Beck where he douses an intern in mustard to prove a point or something.
Because, um… mustard!
JGabriel
As long as Democrats talk to Iowa arugula farmers about their arugula crops, there will always be something for the Republick Fascist Union of Torture to complain about.
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jamie
So was your uncle upset that people were wasting his time with a dijon mustard story when there are so many more substantive things to talk about… or was he upset they were wasting time when they could be talking about Obama’s birth certificate and the FEMA death camps? :)
DougJ
I think he could go either way in terms of that dichotomy, in theory. But in this case, he was honestly puzzled by the discussion of Obama’s choice of mustard. It wasn’t “why aren’t they discussing something else” it was “how does that even make sense as a topic of discussion”.
28 Percent
You do not get it it is not that he eats spicy mustard of course nobody cares about that it is that the LIEBERAL MEDIA is always making the sheeple think that Obama is just some regular guy but he is not and they can not hid eit he that eats special “dijon” mustard so called if that is its real name.
Notorious P.A.T.
Haha )
Then he’ll start crying, and scream “can we just bring back some SANITY?!?”
Zifnab
@Bill Belichick:
SHAMWOW, Bitches!
LD50
Why does Obama hate Cheerios?
Chuck Butcher
Condiment-gate is a pretty long reach… Maybe this is a reach back to the Grey Poupon adverts showing the guys in their Rolls??? I’ve been taking the stuff to blue collar jobsites on sandwiches for around 30 years – sitting in the dirt and sawdust eating the stuff seems pretty elitist to me…or something.
J.D. Rhoades
See, here’s the thing the purveyors of this “elitism” bullshit don’t understand. Us “ordinary folk” aren’t scared off by grey poupon, or dijon, or arugula, or latte. In my little bitty southern town, you can get arugula at the Food Lion down the street. You can get a latte in two coffee shops within a stones’ throw of where I’m sitting right now. And you can get both at McDonald’s. But these so-called “men of the people” who try to hang the the “elitist” label on Obama don’t know that, because they don’t go to any of those places either. They’re the ones who think we’re such hicks that we’d be offended by a type of mustard we can pick up at the Piggly Wiggly.
Seanly
@SpotWeld:
Spotweld wins the thread.
When I first heard something about this I thought maybe Obama was in a McDonald’s & ordered spicy mustard. But then I saw it was a little mom & pop place where they typically have better condiments than the fast food joints. Why? Because many people prefer spicy mustard over that neon yellow crap.
I was surprised that they didn’t get on him for having the gall to ask for cheddar cheese. Processed lard cheese-like cheese substitute isn’t good enough for Obama?
I haven’t heard the cashier’s response. I imagine it was “Sure, no problem.” As opposed to the wing-nut wet dream of “Why, sir, your dark visage has evailed against mine eyes too long. This fine eatery establishment only carries the right reverend yellow mustard of our boxum motherland. Now begone with your Democrat Socialist hamburger, I say.” Coz wing-nuts talk like Foghorn Leghorn on crank.
TenguPhule
Also their diet consists of fat, sugar, beef and Dick Cheney’s Dick.
Comrade Stuck
Combine Reagan’s ketchup lunch program and Dijongate with a slice of Arugula, and you have yerself an idjit berger..
jackie
My 84 year old blue collar Dad voted for Obama. His first democrat ever. He says he will never vote for another Republican. ” They are too crazy” He ,too, keeps asking me why they are talking about mustard when there are so many serious problems in the country. They are not only missing their target audience they are bailing water into the boat.
JGabriel
28 Percent:
Isn’t it time to change your handle to “21 Percent”?
.
Senyordave
or was he upset they were wasting time when they could be talking about Obama’s birth certificate and the FEMA death camps?
My brother is looking for a summer camp for his 7-year old. Please send me some info on these FEMA death camps that I can pass on to him.
Paul L.
I guess there was no reason for NBC to edit it out.
JGabriel
J.D. Rhoades:
Of course not, they’re all hanging out at the Applebee’s salad bar.
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The Other Steve
When are you people just going to get it?
Obama is an idiot! Worst President EVER! He’s nothing but a puppet for the corporate shills of America!
JosieJ
@SpotWeld:
As long as he doesn’t threaten to set them on fire…
TenguPhule
LD50
@Paul L.:
Attaboy, Paul. You guys just go ahead and ride this whole mustard thing straight to the White House. They’re laughing with you, not at you, I promise.
schrodinger's cat
What is the deal about Cheerios, I guess I missed that one.
Ash Can
@SpotWeld:
I’m waiting for him to haul his camera crew off to some K Street boardroom to film him dumping cases of mustard, after being sent away from Lafayette Square with them because no one bothered to secure a permit.
LD50
@schrodinger’s cat:
See here.
Paul L.
Here is another thing to shake your heads at the wingnuts for mentioning.
Michael
Conservatism’s New Theme Song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytCEuuW2_A
InflatableCommenter
@Seanly:
Well, as some of you know, we spotted Obama ordering dijon mustard on his burger months ago, on his first Air Force One flight (before the inauguration) and in his very first food order onboard. Not exactly a secret. The piece was broadcast by CNN last winter.
Republicans have to answer for why they let this outrage go unquestioned for months before doing something about it.
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
@Paul L.: No reason, except time constraints, or an expectation that mouth breathing morons like you would hyperventilate for weeks over this.
A parallel: you’re bringing a kid grocery shopping. You may think it wise not to dawdle in the cookies aisle, or to avoid it altogether, in an effort to avoid a meltdown. Does that mean you’re part of a worldwide conspiracy to deny the existence of cookies?
Sad_Dem
If any pundit involves an intern in this, I’m hoping for Billo and a squirt bottle.
InflatableCommenter
@Paul L.:
No reason at all, since CNN broadcast a dijon burger order by Obama all the way back in January. Burger with dijon mustard, and fries, on his very first Air Force One ride.
Seen by the whole world months ago. Big secret.
The real story here is that the man appears to be living on a burger and fries diet, which is not very healthy. I’m sort of an expert on this latter aspect.
Uli Kunkel
@LD50: seems like the kids were having a lot of fun with those purple band-aids not too long ago.
I think if someone can come up with an air-pressure gauge that squirts dijon mustard, you’d have winner.
smiley
Dijongate is so last week. Now they’re on to Pelosigate. You should have heard Hannity’s first 20 minutes today. Calling it a Watergate-level cover up and calling for a special prosecutor. Nuts.
LD50
@Paul L.:
Paul, the fact that you link to Vox Day makes it unnecessary for any of us to say anything else about you.
So please, go back to your hole and resume jerking off.
TenguPhule
Have we hit peak wingnut yet?
I think not.
Krista
You nailed it. The only ones using the word “elitist” are themselves, part of the elite. Your average person does go out to a nice dinner every so often, probably owns a decent chef’s knife, and might even watch the odd episode of Top Chef. Did the right-wing miss the entire “foodie” movement? I can’t be the only person making under $20K a year who subsists off of something besides meat, potatoes and fast food.
DougJ
It’s a little like Obama and the AIG bonuses. Maybe Ed Henry can get to the bottom of this.
JGabriel
Paul L.: How is that much different from Esquire making Elizabeth Dole one of the “Women We Love” features back in the 80’s?
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BethanyAnne
I clicked both those links Pluk. Hoe Leeee Sheyiit are you folk petty. What dumb angry twaddle you link to these days.
Indylib
OT Do you suppose there is some way we could force the wingnuts to take on the care and feeding of Ben Nelson? He’s turning out to be more trouble than he’s worth.
Persia
@JGabriel: I’ve been to a bunch of Applebee’s and I don’t remember a single one with a salad bar. They could at least get their bullshit talking points correct, but I guess that’s asking too much.
wasabi gasp
Your curly fries are either with Teresa Heinz Kerry or against her. No one can anticipate a watery imitation. We can’t let the catsups win.
PanAmerican
The People’s Revolutionary Democrat Socialist something, something, something.
The wet dream would be chasing him out of the store with baseball bats.
JGabriel
Indylib:
Not feasible. Like him or not – and I don’t – Nelson is still a marginally more reliable Democratic vote than Snowe or Collins, and he provides the 59th (60th once Franken is seated) Dem vote on procedural matters like committee assignments, etc.
Nor are we likely to get a more liberal Democrat from Nebraska. For the time being, we just have to suck it up.
.
JGabriel
Persia:
That’s because there isn’t one, Persia. People called Applebee’s and verified it. I thought the article I linked mentioned that, but it’s possible that was verified in a later story.
.
Jon H
@zmulls:
The word he used is actually an Arab condiment that is a homonym for ‘dijon’.
It’s one of the rewards in heaven that awaits a jihadi. Don’t you know Islamist code when you hear it?
TenguPhule
Elitiest!
Real Americans live on mac & cheese, canned soup and old boots.
Ruemara
@J.D. Rhoades:
lol @ Piggly Wiggly, because, as an East Coaster and foreign-born riffraff, I thought that was a joke, ie, not a real thing.
And, this mustard-gate probably drops the RNC faithful down to @!% from it’s high of 28%. Egads, this is great news for John McCain.
dr. luba
@TenguPhule:
Peak wingnut is like the horizon–you may try to approach it, but it keeps receding in the distance.
Or, to put it another way, it’s like the mathematical concept of a limit–you get closer and closer to it, but never quite reach it.
Wingnuttery is like the universe–endless and infinite.
vacuumslayer
Dijon mustard is one of the best staples you can have in your pantry. It’s packed with flavor and wonderful in marinades, sauces and vinaigrettes. I made a glaze last night with some balsamic vinegar, orange juice, orange marmalade, chicken stock and guess what else? Dijon! Obviously the Prez has good taste.
El Cid
@Paul L.:
This is what you linked to:
Michelle is hot. I don’t give a flip what you nutbags think. You shit-heads ejaculated on the TV screen for Sarah Friggin’ Palin. I’m completely not surprised Michelle made a list of America’s hottest women [purportedly ‘the world’s hottest 100’ but Maxim like others isn’t quite the multicultural paradise], and I don’t give a shit what you Dixie-humpers think.
gex
@smiley: Only the GOP can simultaneously claim that a Democrat who was briefed about torture should be investigated, but the Republicans who implemented the policy of torture aren’t worthy of investigation at all. It is both the most horrible thing and the most patriotic thing of all time, depending on your party label.
canuckistani
@El Cid:
The rant was full of comparisons to apes and gorillas. Pure wingnut class.
Xenos
The moment I heard the dijon comment, in a neutral radio spot, I knew it was going to be an issue. This is the sort of thing Lee Atwater would latch onto. The point was not “Dukakis is elitist” as “Dukakis is a pwssy”. The point being that real men and real women don’t vote for pwssies – vote for real macho men like G. H. W. Bush.
I was appalled when that sort of thing worked in the 80s. Thank god it gets no traction today. Still, when a ripe target presents itself, the children of Atwater can’t restrain themselves.
edit- w’s interpolated for u’s to get self out of moderation.
demkat620
See, Obama gave the game away. I went to Rachel Ray’s site and searched for Dijon Mustard. I found three pages of recipes using it. And as we all know, Rachel Ray wears jihadi scarves.
See, that’s all you needed to know.
Wolverines!
gwangung
@El Cid:
Oh, I dunno…I think Michelle Obama is “only” as hot as Zoe Saldana….
El Cid
I heard Obama was going to forbid any condiment other than harissa and murri.
Dennis-SGMM
@JGabriel:
Nelson is reliable all right: In a bad way:
Ben Nelson Tougher On Obama’s Nominees Than Bush’s
TenguPhule
Corrected for the wingnut impaired.
vacuumslayer
I read thru that Michelle screed. Wow. Ugly stuff. Ya know, i don’t think she’s the most beautiful woman in the world, but I think she always looks great and polished and classy and really admire her fit figure.
But don’t listen to me…I think Miss California looks a little like a transvestite and Sarah Palin is almost plain. Meh. Eye of the beholder and all that…
I guess I’ll be happy when there’s little to no discussion of the looks of women in politics. Best we judge them on their intelligence and effectiveness.
schrodinger's cat
I wonder what JC’s opinion was about Freedom Fries back in his wingnutty days.
TenguPhule
Nelson is proof that some problems really are nails in need of a hammer.
CapMidnight
I have documents proving Saddam Hussein sought yellow mustard from Niger!
Or I will, in a minute (I need a new printer cartridge, dang it).
vacuumslayer
@demkat620:
Rachel Ray is a commie Nazi socialist. Duh.
El Cid
@CapMidnight: But who puts mustard on cake? That’s just wrong.
LD50
@canuckistani:
Vox Day AKA Ted Beale is legendary for having big problems with both women and nonwhites. So it’s surprising to hear his racist misogyny come out when discussing Michelle Obama.
But really, VD is not someone who should be faulting how others look.
Dennis-SGMM
@El Cid:
It’s only bad if you leave the cake out in the rain.
Comrade Darkness
Republicans have to answer for why they let this outrage go unquestioned for months before doing something about it.
The poor dears did not realize how badly the bottom of the barrel had been scraped clean until now.
For the record, the yellow stuff is my favorite. It’s just vinegar mustard seeds and a few seasonings. No wine. No cream of tartar. Culinary it’s easier to work with. Oh, man, between the mustard and the lovely meat on the banner, now I seriously need a burger.
man of Sparta
President O. is used to people making a big deal of his taste for Dijon. How do I know? He says so in his own book. [Audacity of Hope, p.49 in my paperback, chapter on “Values”]:
[2004, Southern Illinois] . . .
. . . When the waitress brought the food, I asked her if she had any Dijon mustard. Dan [legislative aide] shook his head. “He doesn’t want Dijon,” he insisted . . –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 photogrphers around.
Audacity of Hope – – Shocking Expose!
Brandon T
@Paul L.:
Holy sheeeet! There’s some serious implied racism there. Pretty unbelievable. Why doesn’t he just say “them negro features just make all’em look like monkeys!”?
Of course, all you have to look at is these pictures to see why she was included in the Maxim ranking.
vacuumslayer
@Comrade Darkness:
Nothing beats plain yellow for sausage dogs IMO.
Brachiator
@DougJ:
But I guess the Republicans gotta keep trying. After all, they were able to convince a lot of the people that an Connecticut-born Ivy League goofball who belonged to one of the most elitist college secret societies ever (Skull and Bones) was actually a man of the people who spontaneously sprang from the dirt of a Texas ranch.
The double irony is that when you point out that Mrs McCain is a trust fund baby, these same goons then shout “Class Warfare! Class Warfare!”
And the triple irony is that these goons don’t realize that this stuff absolutely falls flat everywhere outside of the wingnut echo chamber.
gwangung
@Brandon T: Waddya mean…implied?
Svensker
@Paul L.:
Michelle looks like King Kong’s baby sister?
Stay classy there, wingnuts. Stay classy.
Xenos
I wonder if these Republicans know you can get Grey Poupon in the big, wide-mouth jars in double-packs at Sam’s Club. I bet that would just blow their minds…
J.D. Rhoades
Oh, it’s a real chain. It’s shrunk in recent years but it’s hanging on.
Try saying “Piggly Wiggly store” three times without laughing. I couldn’t, and it was one of the worst days I’ve ever had back when I was doing radio news. Apparently the managers of a PW store that was robbed didn’t think it was appropriate for the guy reporting it to be snorting back laughter by the end of the story.
Apsaras
I put Dijon Mustard on my grilled cheese sammiches as directed by Alton Brown. Dijon mustard, shredded new york cheddar, black pepper on fresh italian bread brushed with olive oil. Cook it in my cheap-o panini press (between two frying pans) and a minute later I have achieved grilled cheese apotheosis.
So dijon mustard is elitist now, what next? Steel-cut oatmeal? Carrots? Wait, I know!
“So I hear that Michelle Obama uses BROWN sugar when she bakes cookies. What’s the matter, Michelle? Our white sugar not good enough for you?! I bet she got that recipe from Saul Alinksy himself!”
gnomedad
@El Cid:
Barack can’t speak without a teleprompter and Michelle is ugly. Way to be credible, wingers.
El Cid
Piggly Wiggly seems now generally relegated to selling fewer products at higher prices to largely black rural areas, but they did invent the modern supermarket, including lines and cashier checkouts about a century ago.
Calouste
@smiley:
I’d like to see a special prosecutor as well. To find out what anybody and everybody knew about torture around the time that Pelosi is supposed to have known of it.
Calling Mr. Dennis Hastert and party (Frist, McConnell, Delay, Blunt, Goss). Mr. Hastert, your plane to the Hague is now boarding, please make your way to the gate.
joes527
@smiley: A special prosecutor looking into who knew what when and what laws were broken?
Yes. Please.
I have no idea where Pelosi would end up, and really don’t care.
Investigate whether there was a crime.
Prosecute the guilty.
Let the chips fall where they may.
(shit! I just agreed with Hannity)
Steeplejack
@Dennis-SGMM:
I don’t think that I can take it, ’cause it took so long to bake it, and I’ll never have that recipe again.
Colette
@joes527:
Exactly. Fiat justitia ruat caelum.
Wait, what? Hannity? Justice?
++ out of cheese error, redo from start ++
BC
Man, I remember when Charles Kuralt (may he rest in peace) was hosting Sunday Morning on CBS and had a segment on the lumberjacks in Oregon having their lattes! This was back in the 1980s, when good coffee was just getting started in Washington and Oregon. Kuralt reported on the rough, tough macho men who were going to their convenience store and ordering lattes and espressos rather than just a cup of joe. GOP hacks are at least 20 some years behind the times with the “latte sipping” elite line. Guess if it’s not southern, it’s not common man. They are so busy donning the plaid shirts and finding the beat up pickup to make the “optics” fit that they have lost sight of what the common man in America does these days.
Mnemosyne
Meanwhile, Michelle Obama is one of the most popular of the modern First Ladies, even winning over McCain voters. She has a disapproval rating of 8%. That’s right, eight percent.
Awesome strategy in attacking her, wingnuts! No, really, it’s awe-inspiring.
TenguPhule
+++ Big Red Lever Time +++
gil mann
Well, look, it’s Maxim, of course any first lady with a slammin’ bod;s gonna be on there. It’s not really the 100 sexiest women, like, out of everybody, it’s a chance to ogle celebrities. Laura Bush was quite lovely, but to reiterate, it’s Maxim.
And do people really think Sarah Palin’s not hot? I understand that no more than I do finding her politically simpatico. I mean, sure, you could say “she’s so mean and crazy and never shuts up,” to which I would reply “yeah, and don’t forget gunhappy.”
gwangung
Once she opens her mouth, yeah.
Hotness isn’t just the physical…
gil mann
Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. When did villainy become un-sexy?
asiangrrlMN
@gil mann: I don’t think Palin’s hot at all. Stupid is anti-hot to me. We’ve had this discussion many times on this site.
Michelle Obama is hot because she’s got it all. Bachmann, Prejean, Palin–not hot. Brown spicy mustard–hot. Ketchup–not hot.
Little Dreamer
@Seanly:
I’m the real elitist, I ask for Lea & Perrins and the waitresses at the coffeeshops look at me like I just landed from Mars.
Brachiator
@gil mann:
Happiness is a warm gun. Bang, bang, shoot,shoot.
Right, because it’s not like anyone would have to just knock it out with a guy or gal who was major hot but stupid because, well, just because!
It is quite amazing. And yet, the hateful, virulently racist comments made about her by the wingnut lunatic fringe is just sad.
steve s
Frankly I like Dijongate. If you told me, “Hey, steve, you get to write the script for Hannity’s show today, do your best to make him look like a humongous retard.” I honestly couldn’t have come up with anything better than this.
Col. Klink
Shouldn’t we follow the lead of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and refer to this tragic incident as “Poupon-gate’?
Jack
@ Steve S, who wrote:
“Frankly I like Dijongate. If you told me, “Hey, steve, you get to write the script for Hannity’s show today, do your best to make him look like a humongous retard.” I honestly couldn’t have come up with anything better than this.” –
– Lost my mouthful of chocolate soy milk (is there a grocery store that doesn’t carry it?) and my Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Caramel bar (purchased at Rite Aid; is their a corner in any metropolis with more than 25k people not occupied by a chain drug outlet?) reading this. Much obliged. I needed to drag my elitist computer (with its doppelgangers in how many “common man” homes?) down a notch.