Fallout over President Obama's burger outing continues. Freedom-fry loving conservatives are venting over the president's choice of Dijon mustard, while foodies of all political stripes are mortified by the omnivore-in-chief's preference to have his burger cooked - gasp! - medium well.
Taking the lead for the right, Sean Hannity railed against the cheeseburger blasphemy on his Fox News show last night, rallying his many incensed followers to accuse MSNBC, and Andrea Mitchell in particular, of waging a "cover-up" of Obama's Dijon mustard eating ways during the cable network's coverage of the burger outing.
Cornell law school professor William Jacobson has been obsessively chronicling what he has dubbed "dijongate" on his blog. "Obama ordered his burger with DIJON MUSTARD! Bet he had to seek John Kerry's counsel on that," writes Jacobson.
He, too, notes the alleged cover-up by the mainstream media, noting that Mitchell "didn't mention one arugula-like fact" - which was that Obama had the gall to ask for Dijon mustard. "You couldn't hear it on the MSNBC video because Andrea and her correspondent Kelly O'Donnel (they needed two people to cover this story) were talking so much," says Jacobson.
And don't even get the foodies started.
As Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema can attest, the very first question he was asked Wednesday during a regular online chat was about the president and Vice President Joe Biden's trip to the now and forever famous Ray's Hell Burger across the river in Arlington, Va.
"How could our fearless leader go to Ray's Hell-Burger and order his burger 'medium well,'" the first questioner asked, adding, "Sacrilege. Everyone knows the only way to eat one of those burgers is medium (at most) or medium rare. He and Biden both ordered their burgers medium well (yes, I'm one of the idiots who watched him do so on Youtube). I have lost faith in Obama's judgment. "
Sietsema answered, "I was surprised they got their burgers so thoroughly cooked, too! Oh, well, at least the two are getting out and exploring the city and its environs. That's what pleases me most. "
But that did little to quell the outrage. Another questioner and apparent Obama fan wrote, "Oh, the humanity! The President likes his burgers MEDIUM WELL. I'd rather eat shoe leather myself. What can we as Americans do to correct this disaster? As for no ketchup, if that's his preference, then so be it. I just hope he doesn't get nailed as a fancy pants elitist for requesting dijon mustard. "
A blogger at "Slashfood, meanwhile, writes, "While I approve of his decision to top his burger with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and dijon mustard, I must strenuously object to his choice to have it grilled medium well. Although not as egregiously awful as well done, medium well is still pretty heavily overcooked. If President Obama wants to eat a hockey puck, the man should order a hockey puck. If he wants a burger, he should go with, at most, medium rare."
Of course, the president may just be taking common sense precaution. The FDA long ago recommended that hamburgers be cooked to 155 degrees to prevent E. coli bacteria poisoning.
Burgers being such a sensitive topic, the White House declined to comment on the record. But a White House aide who hails from the Midwest defended the president, telling the Sleuth, "That's how we eat them in the Midwest."
By Mary Ann Akers | May 7, 2009; 10:20 AM ET
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2009/05/_fallout_over_president_obamas.html
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