The GOP is being laughed at in Canada too!

Republicans are fast becoming the world's biggest laughing stock. The newest insane blooper "Mustardgate" is entertaining everybody. Keep listening to Rush and FOX you guys. The world needs a good laugh!

Obama sets off debate with unAmerican choice of mustard

Full Comment's Araminta Wordsworth brings you a regular dose of international punditry at its finest. Today: The social niceties of burger dining are obviously more arcane than the court rituals of the Bourbons, or so Barack Obama has just found out.

Popping in to a local hamburger joint — Ray’s Hell Burger in Arlington, Va. — with veep Joe Biden in tow must have seemed like a feel-good, meet the people exercise with no downside.


Think again: the President’s request for spicy mustard or Dijon mustard has divided the country, or at the very least media commentators who surely have something better to do.


Here’s the clip that set off the furore:

“Obama: I’m going to have a — just your basic Cheddar cheeseburger, medium well. I just want mustard, no ketchup.
If you’ve got like a spicy mustard or something like that, or a Dijon mustard, something like that.”

According to the right-wing pundits chanelling manners’ maven Emily Post, a cheeseburger must be accompanied by ketchup. Preferring anything else makes you an elitist, according to Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Mark Steyn, whose comments are carried on the Media Matters Web site under the headline, “Dijon Derangement Syndrome”

Here’s Mark Steyn on the Rush Limbaugh show:
“It was wonderful watching the coverage of the hamburger visit. He’s amazing, Obama. This coverage — he’s a regular guy. He eats a hamburger with Dijon mustard — Dijon mustard. John Kerry couldn’t get away with that stuff, but he makes it seem like just like a regular thing to do. Now there’s — I see that some of the left-wing commentators are saying, ‘Why are people making a fuss about the Dijon mustard?’ but that’s just an example of the way Obama is able to enlighten us.”


In a leaden attempt at humour, Steyn goes on: “And I have to say, speaking as a foreigner, that I deeply resent Barack Obama crashing in as the Grey Poupon spokesperson, because that has been the lifesaver for non-American voiceover artists in this country for years — getting the gig doing the Grey Poupon voiceover.
You know, you do the, ‘Try the new Grey Poupon squeeze, one of life’s simpler pleasures.’ And the idea that Barack Obama now is going to be collaring — it’s in-sourcing, in effect.”


Several reasoned answers to the question, “What kind of man eats ketchup on a burger?” come from another source: David Frum blogging at NewMajority.com, the site that is “building conservatism so it can win again.”

“First answer: Texans.
Texans traditionally eat hamburgers with mustard or with mayonnaise (or with both), but without ketchup. This is simply called a ‘hamburger’ in Texas, but is sometimes called a ‘Cowboy Burger’ or a ‘Texas Burger’ outside of Texas.
A hamburger with ketchup is sometimes called a ‘Yankee Burger.’ A hamburger with mayonnaise is sometimes called a ‘Sissy Burger’ …
Second answer: Republicans. A 2000 survey of members of Congress by the National Hot Dog Council found that 73% of Republican lawmakers preferred mustard to ketchup, as opposed to 47% of Democratic lawmakers.
Final answer: traditionalists. Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, Conn., the restaurant widely believed to have served the first hamburgers ever made in the United States, absolutely forbids ketchup.”

The fact Republican commentators are spending all this time on Obama's choice of condiment only feeds suggestions they are short of ideas to reinvigorate their party. As John Amato notes on Crooks & Liars, “If the Republican Party wants to go on a listening tour to figure out what they need to do, they may start turning off their radios and televisions too. Every day we post about the absurdity that is the Republican Party and every day a completely new mind-numbing smear comes out.
I understand what they are doing. They feel if they keep chipping away at President Obama with nonsensical complaints, it will slowly erode his popularity. The problem they face is that they look like loons doing it, and all the polls point to the same conclusion. It’s good for ratings on Fox, because those uber-loons are watching the little horde of Republican lunatics in action with a fervent glee, but mainstream America is laughing at them.”

For the record, Mr. Biden ordered a Swiss cheese burger with jalapeño peppers, but was allowed to lunch in peace.

Compiled by Araminta Wordsworth
awordsworth@nationalpost.com

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/05/08/obama-sets-off-debate-with-unamerican-choice-of-mustard.aspx

since they nominated George W. Bush for president ten years ago.

A friend of mine used to be the Canadian ambassador to the USA during Clinton's presidency.

He retired from the Canadian foreign service when his uncle retired as PM, but this man
is THE finest foreign service office I have ever known from ANY country.

I can't repeat any of the stuff he said in private, but let's just say you are spot on.

"A friend of mine used to be the Canadian ambassador to the USA during Clinton's presidency"
"his uncle retired as PM"

I'm still stumped...could you narrow it down a bit? That could be ANYBODY! ;-)

Oswego "uhh...Bob Trudeau?" Atheist

Yeah, Raymond always says "Call me Bob"...must be his Quebec accent.

I have great respect for him.

He did Canada proud wherever he served, and when there was trouble he never hesitated to get his hands
dirty. When he was posted to France (after Washington), I used to get together with him (I'm in Paris
twice a month for work) at his fancy digs there, but when there was trouble in Zaire (as it was called
at the time), where he used to serve, there he was on TV, right in the middle of helping people out in
the squalid refugee camps.

I was saddened by his resignation but understood the reasons behind it given the political considerations.

You are fortunate to have such a friend.

He always used to (half-)joke that the accommodations were great, but the pay sucked. The Canadian Embassy Residence
is a fabulous house in Rock Creek Park in Washington, and the Résidence in Paris is a well-kept up 18th century
urban château right on the swanky Rue Faubourg Ste-Honoré. One lives well, but saves nothing. Raymond had two
farewell parties when he left Paris, one for his French-speaking friends, and one for the Anglos. I was the only
Anglo invited to French-speaking party (my French is fine), which I considered an honor.

After something like 30 years, I don't blame him a bit for wanting to enter the private sector, although the
ironic part is that now that he is in Canada most of the time, I never see him any more. Just emails and Christmas
cards. But Raymond paid his dues and served Canada well.

Although he is now in the private sector, he is well-known former diplomat, and I don't feel comfortable repeating
anything he has said to me in public. I will make the global comment that he is very much one of the good guys,
a Canadian patriot, a true friend of the USA, and leave the rest to your imagination. I trust you'll draw the
right conclusion.

Now that would have been elitist. :sarcasm:

Seriously? I tuned out everything I heard about the Dijon mustard yesterday. But they're making it an issue? How friggin' lame can they get?

All that is going on in the world today, and they're suddenly fixated on mustard.

You are warned not to even ASK for ketchup there. And they cook their burgers in a slotted cooker, sorta like a pop up toaster.

However, the claim that Louis Lunch served the first hamburgers inthe nation is questionable. Much research has gone into this claim and it has never been proven...

It's like they're in a time warp. Dijon was new and "exotic" when we first saw those "Grey Poupon" commercials ... 30 years ago! Today, it's common. It's everywhere. Where the hell have they been? Watch any Food Network show and you'll see Dijon mustard being used in marinades, dressings and pretty much everything else. Bobby Flay, Paula Deen and Rachael Ray, who are as "all-American" and mainstream as you can get, use it all the time in their recipes. Rachael often uses arugula, too. She loves the stuff! I guess that makes her a commie. :eyes:

Yes, I know ... they're playing to the base, but like I said, Dijon mustard is COMMON. What makes them think the base isn't eating it? :shrug: Seriously ... do these idiots even realize how common Dijon mustard is and how ridiculous they sound for acting like it's an expensive, exotic item?

Grey Poupon is made by Kraft Foods! :rofl:

Dijon, after all, is in France, don't forget.

It's sort of like "Freedom Fries 2.0" ... I get that. However, this is a little different. With fries, they were basically saying, "Let's reclaim an all-American food." It was stupid, but I understand how it could appeal to the base. With Dijon, they're not trying to reclaim an item that Americans enjoy, they're trying to ostracize anyone who enjoys it, which is risky when you consider how common it is. Do you know how many BBQ-sauce recipes include Dijon? BBQ is as all-American as you can get! Isn't there a good chance they're going to piss off a few members of the base who may like Dijon mustard? The base is all they have! They certainly can't afford to lose anyone else! :rofl:

It really seems like they didn't think this one through - which isn't surprising because we are dealing with the GOP, but somehow I don't think this will resonate with the base nearly as much as "Freedom Fries" did. :P

coming!!!

:shrug: I'm not a big mustard fan but I could swear that I've seen Dijon mustard in plastic packets.

:toast:

I guess mustard packets are "elitist" too. :P

In fact, Mark Steyn used to be a columnist for them.

I suspect some score-settling here.

put ketchup and mustard on them. So will the Right Wing whack jobs be screaming about how un-American McDonald's has been for the past 50 years by automatically including mustard as a burger topping? :crazy: