Former President George W. Bush set the record straight on the important activity he was engaged in when President Obama informed him that Osama bin Laden had been killed:
"I was eating souffle at Rise Restaurant with Laura and two buddies," Bush said when asked what he was doing when he received the call from President Obama
Bush sold himself as the down home, folksy candidate during both his presidential campaigns -- as opposed to John Kerry, an elitist who went windsurfing. Bush was the candidate people would most want to share a beer with.
So what's this Rise place where he went with his "buddies"? It's likely that he was at the restaurant called rise n°1, a "relaxed bistro focused on the soufflé -- the masterpiece of French cuisine" that is a part of that dirty hippie slow Food Movement. Since it is also a wine bar, it's more likely Bush's dinner companions were sharing a nice Chardonnay rather than the Budweiser he sold to voters.
Not to disparage the former president's dining choice (rise's menu does look delicious), but this is a nice little reminder that the folksy images politicians present are usually divorced from reality and voters should ignore cultural markings when they cast their ballot. Barack Obama was viewed as elitist when he said he puts arugula in his salads, however it was John McCain who couldn’t remember the number of homes he owned. Politicians on both sides of the aisles can posture as much as they like, at the end of the day the truth remains that the majority of our elected representatives are members of the obscenely wealthy class.
