WH Pool Report: Carbo-Loading for the Weekend Edition
In this White House pool report, we find out the completely woody-killing context for yesterday's "Creamy Presidential Edition" of the Huh-Huh Files, in which W. and an unidentified "Q" dripped all over each other. It's not sexy, just revealing about the POTUS's lack of concern about hygiene:
[Bush] "highly recommended'' the vanilla custard, particularly to your pooler. He offered a bite. But your pooler declined, noting the custard was melting and the president might consider a napkin.
"I'll get one in a minute,'' he said.
But we're sort of messy eaters ourselves. Wish we'd caught earlier that Bush offered the pooler a bite of his cone. The big flirt.
July 14, 2004
Pool Report 4
Fond du Lac to Green Bay, Wis.
About mid-way on this mid-afternoon leg, President Bush ducked off the main drag in Oshkosh for a custard cone at Leon's, a corner drive-in.
Your pool, far behind in the buscapade, hustled to the corner to find the president and his daughter, Barbara, already off their bus. They went inside and emerged a few minutes later, each holding a cone.
The president says his was vanilla custard, and Barbara's appeared the same.
At one point, he leaned down to talk to a man in parked car with a small hand-written sign in the dashboard, reading: "Freedom rings. Vote right (not wrong) Bush for president. 2004.
Your pool could not hear the conversation.
There is, however, a transcript of some brief chitchat with the pool. In short, the president said, responding to a question, that he had found his reception in Wisconsin, "very, very warm and very hospitable...a lot of people coming out, for which I'm grateful.''
He "highly recommended'' the vanilla custard, particularly to your pooler. He offered a bite. But your pooler declined, noting the custard was melting and the president might consider a napkin.
"I'll get one in a minute,'' he said.
Heading into the bus, the president thanked the small crowd that had gathered, declaring: "Let's go back to work.''
His last words as he disappeared inside: "Carbo-loading for the weekend.''
Otherwise, the buscapade was uneventful. There were many folks along the roadside, waving flags and placards of support. And there were knots of Kerry supporters and others, particularly in Oshkosh, who signaled their opposition.
Bob Hillman
Dallas Morning News