"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Long-Awaited Beer With Bush Really Awkward, Voter Reports


WARREN, PA—Although respondents to a Pew poll taken prior to the 2004
presidential election characterized Bush as "the candidate they'd most
like to sit down and have a beer with," Chris Reinard lived the
hypothetical scenario Sunday afternoon, and characterized it as "really
uncomfortable and awkward."


Chris Reinard and President Bush try to think of something to talk about.
Reinard, a father of four who supported Bush in the 2000 and 2004
elections, said sharing a beer with the president at the Switchyard Tap
gave him "an uneasy feeling."

"I thought he'd be great," Reinard said. "But when I actually met him, I
felt real put off."

The president arrived at the bar via motorcade close to 3 p.m. After a
sweep by Secret Service agents, Reinard was asked, for security reasons,
to move from his favorite stool. Shortly after he had reseated himself,
Reinard said he "was pleased" to welcome the president to the Switchyard.

"Boy, it sure is a good day for a cool one," Bush reportedly told the
assembled patrons, who were watching the Dolphins_Patriots game.

"When he first walked in, everything seemed fine," bartender Bob Kern
said. "He told everyone 'Hi' like he was one of the regulars, then sat
next to Chris."

Reinard ordered two Budweisers, but Bush interrupted him, saying he'd
prefer an O'Doul's non-alcoholic beer.

"I completely forgot he stopped drinking," Reinard said.

Following the initial gaffe, Bush attempted to smooth things over, asking
Reinard to call him "George." Reinard complied, but later said "it felt a
little unnatural."

"I guess I was supposed to tell him to call me Chris," Reinard said. "I
didn't like him calling me 'Mr. Reinard' the whole time, but I didn't know
if it was okay to interrupt him to say 'Call me Chris.' And then also, it
felt weird to just say it out of nowhere. Like, 'Call me Chris.'"

Bush asked Reinard if he had any hobbies, and Reinard told the president
that he enjoys spending weekends with his children on local lakes in his
small aluminum boat.

"Mr. Bush, I mean George, seemed to like that, and I felt that we finally
made a connection," Reinard said. "But then he started telling me about
this one time he was on a yacht with some Arab prince and they spent four
hours landing a sailfish."

"It was a good story, but I just like catching a few bass with my kids is
all," Reinard added. "I know he didn't mean to make me feel bad, but
still."

Reinard told the president that he has lived most of his life in the
Warren area, except for several years he spent in nearby Jamestown, where
he attended community college for a year. Bush told Reinard he was born in
New Haven, CT, and grew up in Texas before attending Yale University as an
undergraduate and earning his MBA from Harvard, all while maintaining
membership in many exclusive clubs.

"I asked George how much it costs to be in those social clubs, but he said
he didn't remember," Reinard said. "I think he just didn't want to say the
amount. He'd change the subject on me a lot, say he did a lot of partying
back then, but that was all behind him now, since he found the Lord, or
whatever."

Bush asked Reinard what he did for a living, and Reinard said he runs a
small carpentry business.

"He asked me how it was going, what with the economy bouncing back. I said
that if things didn't pick up soon, I was going to have to close up shop
and work for my uncle in Youngstown," Reinard said. "George was quiet for
a while after that. Then he told me about when his second oil company was
going under. He suggested using my connections to get some outside
investment capital."

"I don't have any connections," Reinard added.

When the conversation reached a dead end, Reinard and Bush were silent
once again, their eyes tracking the game.

"We were sitting there watching the game, and some cheerleaders were up
there waving their pompoms," Reinard said. "Then George mentioned that he
used to be a cheerleader at Yale. I didn't know what to say to that one,
so I just drank the rest of my beer real fast."

After nearly a minute of silence, Bush drained the remainder of his
O'Doul's and wished Reinard goodbye, saying that he'd stay longer if he
could, but had "some business to tend to."

"He shook my hand and smiled, said he had to run," Reinard said.
"Something about a conference or a summit. It seemed like he was actually
relieved to go."

Reinard and Kern both estimated Bush's stay at the bar as no longer than
15 minutes. This included Kern's attempt to pay for Bush's beer. Bush only
smiled and waved at Kern, and a member of his Secret Service escort pulled
a $10 bill from his coat pocket and tossed it on the bar.

Reinard likened the encounter with Bush to "being cornered at a company
Christmas party by your boss."

"It was like, do you act and drink like normal, or are you on your best
behavior?" Reinard said. "Are you up-front with the guy or do you choose
your words carefully? What does he want out of you, anyway? Or does he
just want to connect with somebody, because it's lonely at the top? You
just don't know for sure."

"Overall, it was okay, I suppose," Reinard said. " One thing's for sure,
though—I still wouldn't want to have a beer with that stuck-up Kerry."


(Dunno the source for this one. It arrived in my email from a buddy in
Missouri)



And your point is? It looks like Bush acted pretty cordial to the guy.