Not Snoqualmie Summit, but the Beer Summit

I’m going to step outside our Washington beer box for a moment and talk about the other Washington. And beer, of course. By now, we all know about Gates and Crowley.  Cambridge, MA police sergeant James Crowley (who just happens to be white) apprehended a Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates (who just happens to be black), while attempting to break into his own home. Mistakes were made. Fingers were pointed. Names were called. Please don’t confuse my sarcasm for insensitivity.
Yes, the whole thing was a mess, but the media frenzy was even uglier. Media outlets like CNN and MSNBC paraded politicians and activists onto the stage and gave them the opportunity to prove that they are not a racist. Fox News called upon their politicos and pundits, giving them an equal opportunity to prove that they are. In fact, it quickly became such a divisive subject that President Obama got involved and invited the two men to the White House to share a beer and have a “Can’t we all just get along?” moment.
Today, July 30th, Gates and Crowley will sit down with the leader of the free world to drink beer and hopefully put the whole thing to rest. Of course, POTUS gets to drink whatever kind of beer he wants, so everyone has been on pins and needles waiting to find out what kind of beer Mr. Obama would select for the less-than-historic meeting.
According to my sources at the White House (okay, CNN and ABC News), each man will get to drink the beer of their choice —Blue Moon for the police officer, Red Stripe or Beck’s for Professor Gates, and Bud Light for President Obama.
Why President Obama selected Bud Light, we may never know. We’ll have to wait for his memoirs. I’m guessing Mrs. Obama made this choice. Barrack has put on a few pounds since becoming the leader of the free world’s best 24 hour restaurant – the White House kitchen. I have to imagine that’s like having a really bitchin’ Denny’s in your basement. And it’s free!
Seriously folks, it’s just three dudes sitting down for a couple beers. Some people are really over-thinking this one, so I will too.
Check out what ABC News had to say, “Blue Moon, however, could be a problematic pick for the Democratic president, because while it is marketed as a small craft beer, it was actually created by Coors and today owned by MillerCoors. The Coors family has been a long-time supporter of the Republican party. Additionally, the AFL-CIO ran a decade-long boycott of the company’s beer in the late 1970s and early ’80s.”
Seriously? Someone at ABC got paid for writing that garbage and I’m writing this for free? I need a new publicist.
Republican strategist Matt Mackiowack says, “He’s trying to send a message that he’s an average American and these are two other average Americans.”
Average American? Not sure I know what one of those looks like, but I’m guessing that Matt Mackiowack’s vision of an average American is a white guy who drives a pickup truck and watches NASCAR on the plasma. In that case, maybe his assessment is correct. Perhaps this is Mr. Obama’s way of telling Toby Keith fans and PBR (Professional Bull Riders) enthusiasts that he is just a good-ole-boy at heart. Few things could better endear him in the hearts of some people than Bud Light.

The Obama crew is not stupid. Choosing Bud Light because it is an American beer would be the biggest political faux pas since Ronald Reagan used Born in the USA as a campaign song. Didn’t anyone tell him what that song is about? Didn’t anyone tell “aw shucks” America about InBev taking over Anheuser-Busch?
Sometimes it is easier and better to just appeal to the lowest common denominator. It’s a waste of time to even try to educate or enlighten them. There are places in this country where they will shoot you dead if you suggest that Bud Light is a beer manufactured by a brewery owned by Belgians and operated by Brazilians. Truth be damned! It’s ‘merican beer in a red, white and blue can! They cannot and will not stomach the fact that their affection for Anheuser-Busch products is lining the pockets of guys with girly-French names and expensive European shoes.
Writing this for the Washington Beer Blog is preaching to the choir. This will only be read by serious beer geeks.  The lowest common denominator I’m talking about is busy surfing the Web for nude pictures of Megan Fox.  (We’ll probably get a lot of hits from the Google because I put those words together on my Web site.)

Okay, here’s my point. Beer lovers do not despair. President Obama does in fact like good beer. See the picture? That aint no horse piss he’s drinking.
Sometime a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. He’s taking one for the team because this particular beer event is really just a media event. Three men sitting down to have a couple beers is the easiest thing in the world. Human beings perfected the ritual thousands of years ago. Only the American press could complicate it.
I suppose writing this article means that I can consider myself part of the American press.
Earlier this month, the President had a 4th of July celebration at the White House. For that event, he selected Stoudt’s American Pale Ale (Stoudt’s Brewery is in Adamstown, PA). Now that’s a real American beer. When Stoudt’s makes a profit, you bet your sweet patootie it stays right here in America. Now that’s a beer choice that the F-150 crowd can respect! That’s an American beer.
In retrospect, I don’t think that the Democratic party approved of him selecting Stoudt’s American Pale Ale, though. You see, back when Stoudt’s was a young brewery, their American Pale Ale was the favorite beer of a very famous less-than-liberal American. “Ronald Reagan served it because it was one of his favorite beers,” says Carol Stoudt, President of Stoudt’s Brewery. “It was not served by the last administration because Mr. Bush didn’t drink.”
Clinton drank anything.