Author Topic: Obama eats ribs with 4 Kansas City letter writers  (Read 409 times)

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Offline mountaineer

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Obama eats ribs with 4 Kansas City letter writers
« on: July 30, 2014, 12:20:53 pm »
Associated Press via Yahoo
Quote
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — President Barack Obama feasted on barbecue Tuesday with four people who wrote him letters in a trip to highlight the struggles of working families in American's heartland, as the clock ticked on pressing issues before Congress goes on summer break.

Obama's dinner at Arthur Bryant's, an unpretentious Kansas City self-serve barbecue joint, comes roughly 48 hours before Congress is set to go on a five-week break. He planned to criticize Congress for its inaction in a speech Wednesday at the historic Uptown Theater, the latest in a series of trips to spread the message in the midterm election year.

Before lawmakers leave town, the White House is pressing lawmakers to approve an overhaul of the Veterans Affairs health care system and funding to deal with an influx of children streaming in across the southern border. Obama aides said Obama planned to criticize House Republicans for using their time working on a potential lawsuit over executive action he's taken and suggest instead they should work on closing corporate tax loopholes.

Leading Republicans, meanwhile, have criticized Obama for spending his time raising campaign cash instead of negotiating on complex problems.

"The president just wants to sit back and play politics," incoming House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana said on "Fox News Sunday." ''He's flying around the country doing fundraisers. He doesn't have time to sit down and work with Congress."

Unlike other travel across the country in recent weeks, Obama didn't schedule any political fundraisers while overnighting in Kansas City, Missouri, for the dinner and a speech. Obama's chief spokesman, Josh Earnest, is a native of the city, and called four Obama letter writers from his hometown Monday to invite them to dine with the president.

The White House promoted an online video of Earnest surprising the letter writers with the invitation. His Kansas City Royals banner was prominent in the background of his West Wing office.

Obama ordered a half slab of ribs, beans, lard-cooked fries and a Bud Light but was disappointed to hear the cole slaw was sold out. "You didn't save any for me?" he teased the cashier.

Before sitting down to eat, he greeted a fast-pitch softball team in for a tournament from Glenview, Illinois, outside his hometown of Chicago, and a group from the Game Show Network in town from Los Angeles for a cable convention. They told him they were promoting "The American Bible Show," and he promised to tune in from the White House.

The White House said the Kansas City letter writers included a man who thanked Obama for student loan help he received, a single mother who described her challenges raising children and running a business, a teacher in a GED program and a woman who is active in her neighborhood association.

Obama told them he gets many letters, some telling him that he's a terrible president, but that most are like theirs, adding: "It's people telling their stories."
**nononono*
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Offline mountaineer

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Re: Obama eats ribs with 4 Kansas City letter writers
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2014, 12:27:54 pm »
From the always fawning USA Today:
Quote
When traveling, sample the local cuisine.

In Kansas City, that means Arthur Bryant's.

President Obama visited the iconic barbecue restaurant Tuesday, hosting four guests who had written the White House about how the economy has affected them.

The president reportedly ordered a half-slab of ribs, a bottle of water, and a Bud Light — but didn't get everything he wanted.

"You've got to have some coleslaw around here, don't you?" Obama said, jokingly. "You're out of it? You didn't save any for me? Come on, man, I thought you were going to hook me up ..."

Obama paid for his party with cash.

Other Arthur Bryant's patrons — including a girls softball team from Illinois, playing in a nearby tournament — spoke excitedly about the presidential appearance.

"You're so handsome," one woman told Obama. "The first lady is so lucky."
"Hook me up"?    **nononono*
And by "the first lady" I mean Reggie, of course.
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Offline mountaineer

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Re: Obama eats ribs with 4 Kansas City letter writers
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2014, 05:12:14 pm »
No comment from the Mooch about Barry's consumption of lard-cooked French fries.
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Oceander

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Re: Obama eats ribs with 4 Kansas City letter writers
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2014, 05:13:59 pm »
How sweet!

Offline EC

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Re: Obama eats ribs with 4 Kansas City letter writers
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2014, 06:31:02 pm »
Actually - pretty neat.

I know he's only doing it because the optics are bad and his polls are so far down the toilet that the Dyno Rod guy can't find them - but isn't this what a President is supposed to do? Listen to his employers?
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Offline mountaineer

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Re: Obama eats ribs with 4 Kansas City letter writers
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2014, 07:25:58 pm »
but isn't this what a President is supposed to do? Listen to his employers?
Yeah, that's what he's doing. When will he listen to those of us who don't thank him for student loans (with which he had absolutely nothing to do)? He surrounds himself with sycophants for his never-ending photo-ops.
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