Shake This!

Via Glenn I see that both the always astute Ann Althouse and the NY Times were intrigued by Bush's use of hand sanitizer.  This is from the Times:

Reporters and politicians continually use the word authenticity to describe Mr. Obama, pointing to his ability to come across to voters as a regular person, not a prepackaged pol. And in these pages he often speaks to the reader as if he were an old friend from back in the day, salting policy recommendations with colorful asides about the absurdities of political life.

He recalls a meet-and-greet encounter at the White House with George W. Bush, who warmly shook his hand, then “turned to an aide nearby, who squirted a big dollop of hand sanitizer in the president’s hand.” (“Good stuff,” he quotes the president as saying, as he offered his guest some. “Keeps you from getting colds.”) And he recounts a trip he took through Illinois with an aide, who scolded him for asking for Dijon mustard at a T.G.I. Friday’s, worried the senator would come across as an elitist; the confused waitress, he adds, simply said: “We got Dijon if you want it.”

I am not sure from that extended excerpt just where either the Times or Mr. Obama thought they were headed - is that Bush-bashing, or just "Ain't life peculiar"?  Ms. Althouse excerpted only the bolded portion, which some people did take as Bush-bashing.

Well.  Bush's predilection for Purell has been well documented.  However, Mr. Obama has also caught the bug, ar at least, had advice for Stephen Colbert on how to avoid that:

  Celebrity Illinois junior senator, Barack who,  the man of moi, tells famous comic that Colbert troublemaker, to use hand sanitizer after shaking hands with Knox College students! How rude!!!!!!  

I had to read to the end to realize the letter from Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to comic Stephen Colbert was self-mocking schtick.

The full letter to Colbert very well done and is excerpted after the break.

MORE:  We don't know the meaning of the word "overkill" - Wild Bill Clinton used hand wipes.  After shaking hands, of course.

Obama is riffing on the invitation Colbert accepted to deliver the commencement address at Knox College in Galesburg. Obama who addressed the 2005 Knox graduating class, gives some unsolicited advice to Colbert.

this letter from Camp Obama....

Obama to Stephen Colbert: How'd Your Convention Speech Go?

No, Really...I Must Have Missed It...Was it Good?

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) Tuesday released the
following statement in response to the news that Stephen Colbert will
speak at the 2006 Knox College commencement:

"Stephen, Congratulations on being asked to speak at the 2006 Knox
College Commencement. This is an enormous honor and on behalf of the
people of Illinois, I'd like to welcome you to our state. As you know, I
was invited to speak at Knox after my keynote address at the 2004
Democratic National Convention and subsequent election to the United
States Senate. Your convention speech must also have gone really well to
have been invited. It's weird that I didn't read about it somewhere.

"Before you deliver your remarks in front of literally millions fewer
people than you would at say, a nationally televised political
convention, I'd like to offer you a few words of advice. First, I know
you're fond of your Peabody Awards, whatever those are, but I'd
recommend not bringing them. The students at Knox are down to earth and
not impressed by materials possessions like my Grammy Award for Best
Spoken Word Album.

"Second, use hand sanitizer after the Pumphandle. Lots of germs there. I
cannot stress this enough.

"And finally, don't forget to bring the Truth. I'd recommend putting it
in your carry-on bag rather than in your checked luggage. O'Hare Airport
is notoriously unreliable.

"To the Knox College class of 2006, I'm sorry I won't get to speak with
you this year, but congratulations and best of luck. You make us all
proud."

Note: This release is completely tongue- in-cheek - except of course for
the part about the graduates making us all proud. They do. Colbert has
had so much fun with members of Congress on his show that we decided it
was our turn.

Comments

[MayBee]

Speaking of shake this, apparently Rogers has outed someone, using his magical outing techniques. Patterico has it-- I'm not about to give Rogers the traffic. What a drama queen he is.

[Neo]

I suppose next we will be worrying about what tool Bush or Clinton use to manage the nose hair. Or that Hillary is now wearing a cross.

As for Barack Obama, I find the guy intelligent but boring. I can't believe that he will ever gain the enough trust of Joe SixPack, unless he is running against a dead guy, to ever be voted President, like so many want to believe.

[topsecretk9]

Maybee...Hotair, Ace and a few others have it too...people are getting pissed....Hey Rogers...way to energize the GOP base, you go girl!

[MayBee]

I had a famous friend who hated hated hated handshakes. He would be disgusted by the guys he'd see sneeze into their hands, then march up to him and go for the handshake. If you're famous and refuse the shake, you get labeled as an unfriendly, ungrateful jerk.

I hate handshakes because I sometimes get eczema on my right hand, and I know that it is going to feel gross to the person that has to touch it. As soon as they reach their hand out, I know I'm either going to have to explain why they don't want to shake my hand, or subject them to the scales and let them them think to themselves how gross my hand felt. It's a no win situation.

I like the little head bobby bow, or even a hug. Not all of me is gross, just my hand.

[MJW]

Mr. Monk Goes to Washington?

[jerry]

Sorry to be rough, but this guy (Sir W) is a loon. I was thinking tonight, has anyone working with him just gone bullsh*t and told him he's wrong about anything? I can't think of a single reported example of this.

Hoping for the best... expecting the worst.

[km]

You'll need more than hand sanitizer once Rich Liberals Gone Wild hits your state.

Off topic. Sorry. But I worked in the soap!

[Neo]

I was thinking tonight

Keep up the good work.

[MJW]

jerry, I suspect the expression you were searching for is ape..., not bull... Bull seems to be your specialty.

[MayBee]

jery- I was thinking tonight, has anyone working with him just gone bullsh*t and told him he's wrong about anything? I can't think of a single reported example of this.

I know! You would think that Anderson Cooper could have had some breaking news on the sheer looniness of a President using Purell.
I hate our right-wing press, hiding the really important stuff.

Maybe that big lump in Bush's jacket during the debate in 2004 was a Big Vat of Purell. He is so looney, he would do that! Our SCLM hid that from us by floating the more palatable excuse that it was a transmitter.

You are right, jerry. I won't take it any more. It is just wrong to santitize your hands, Mr. President. Rove, tell him how wrong his Purell use is!

[Daddy]

They still make Lava? That used to be a heck of a good hand soap for manly men.

[goddessoftheclassroom]

Ah, Lava. My dad always had a bar by the basement sink. I always complained that it "hurt."

Sweet memories of childhood...

[Arr]

Celebrity Illinois junior senator, Barack who, the man of moi, tells famous comic that Colbert troublemaker, to use hand sanitizer after shaking hands with Knox College students!

Is the above series of words supposed to form an actual sentence in the English language?

[Robert Speirs]

Have any of these mustard-worriers been in a supermarket mustard section lately? Even the down-market ones have six kinds of Dijon, from horseradish to stone-ground country style to honey flavored. To say asking for Dijon mustard makes one look like a snob is like saying asking for salsa is pandering to Hispanics. All your food are belong to us.

[ed in texas]

And as we shape up on our 2008 election matchup...drumroll, please...
Hillary/Obama vs McCain/Condi.

Problem is all the voters decide they need to stay home and wash their hair that day.

[largenfirm]

Ah, Lava. My dad always had a bar by the basement sink. I always complained that it "hurt."

Sadly, Lava went "consumer". The color was changed from pumice grey to some sort of green, and the pumice content was reduced to the point where it no longer hurt.

Sigh. These days, I use GoJo and Boraxo, plus one of those "callus" bars (white pumice) to get the crud embedded in the fingerprints. Does the job, but I wish I had a stash of old Lava.

Kirk

[Cronaca]

"get the crud embedded in the fingerprints"?!

Heck, the old Lava would get rid of that and the fingerprints too.

[MayBee]

In defense of my (sometimes) eczema-ish hand, I would like to point out Christina Applegate has the same problem. I believe Nicole Kidman does as well. So.

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

I have my suspicions about some of you, but I can quit any time I want.

[Specter]

LOL Patrick. I wonder if they did the interviews via the internet?

[Bob]

Maybee,

I just cured my occasional eczema on my shins by taking Vitamin D. It was a pretty mild case, but I had noticed it seemed to get better in the summer. My wife thought it might be a deficiancy and suggest I take Vitamin D... it worked almost immediately, and I have been free of an outbreak for over 2 months now.

You should also read this: Defective skin barrier 'key to eczema'

Hope it helps!

[Semanticleo]

Funny Maguire keeps referencing Althouse.
He should clutter his site up with pap like
'American Idol' and other such crap she is smitten with and star-struck about. He doesn't have far to go to reach "Outhouse" levels.

[The Unbeliever]

I think Cleo's going for the blog record for "most failed attempts at wit in a row".

[Gary Maxwell]

As far as the Outhouse comment, the pungent smell seems stronger whenever you appear - for what it is worth.

[Daddy]

Unlike hand sanitizer, the other good thing about a bar of soap is that in the old days, whenever you made rude, stupid and intemperate remarks to a decent individual who certainly didn't deserve them, your momma could always take that bar of soap and make you wash your mouth out with it.

[hit and run]

momma could always take that bar of soap and make you wash your mouth out with it.

But if the CIA did that to terrorists..........

[Bob]

I think Cleo's going for the blog record for "most failed attempts at wit in a row".

Sorry Unbeliever, but anonymous has definitely taken the lead in the "lack of humor" gig... that is of course if they are not the same puppets!

[Jane]

But if the CIA did that to terrorists..........

Ain't that the truth!

[Don]

Why would not title this post: "Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!"

Especially since 23 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Saturday.

[Rick Ballard]

There will be a lot more killed by November 7th. The alQueada/Democrat alliance assures that.

I wonder if Dean has a direct line to Zawahiri or if they just converse via email? Perhaps it's a conference call so that Schumer, Clinton and Emanuel can have some input?

[Don]

There will indeed be more Americans killed by November 7.

FOR WHAT?

[clarice]

Here's the thing, Rick. It's obvious they are ratcheting things up in hopes of helping the Dems who they rightly perceive as softer on the war, but I thought the meme was that as long as we stayed in Iraq we provided the terrorists with a powerful recruiting tool.They want us out to diminish their own ranks?

[Don]

Clarice, you despicable hag, it's no Dem'al qaeda plot more Americans are dying because they're now driving around Bagdhad and getting killed by IEDS.

Why the fuck would Dems need to plot to get more Americans killed when Bush is doing a heckuva job?

[Rick Ballard]

Al Queada is simply trying to give their allies a hand. Perhaps they've read up on how close the Copperhead seditionists came to winning in 1864 and see themselves providing a a hand to a friend to get them over the top?

It's completely understandable - like to like and all.

[Don]

Bush is the best thing that ever happened to Osama.

Al Qaeda is winning the war on terror and you people are too blind and stupid to know it.

[Rick Ballard]

Call down, Don. Seditionists have come very close in the past and they might make it this time.

Don't worry - just get in their and root for more American deaths. It's what good Democrats do - every day all day long.

[Specter]

Don bin Laden

[Sue]

What war on terror?

[Specter]

Bush is the best thing that ever happened to Osama. - posted by Don Bin Laden

You mean of course other than the 10 times the Clinton let him go, right?

[Sue]

Just remember 2 things. (1) Democrats don't believe there is a war on terror. (2) Democrats will use the war on terror to claim Bush is a failure.

[anonymous]

"There will indeed be more Americans killed by November 7.

FOR WHAT?

Posted by: Don | October 18, 2006 at 12:10 PM

"Dem'al qaeda plot more Americans are dying because they're now driving around Bagdhad and getting killed by IEDS."

Root cause Don,root causes.The Iranians are waiting out the Bush presidency, having listened to the the nabobs of the DNC,read the chicken entrails of speeches by those like "Okinawa Murtha" and decided to add a little pyrotechnic punctuation to help things along.No casualties,no excuse to "cut and run",do you really think all the negativity goes unheeded in Tehran?

Don't insult Clarice,she is a better woman than you will ever be,hell, she is a better man than you will ever be.

[Sue]

AT goes behind the wall to give us a glimpse of what Friedman is saying...

American Thinker

But while there may be no single hand coordinating the upsurge in violence in Iraq, enough people seem to be deliberately stoking the fires there before our election that the parallel with Tet is not inappropriate. The jihadists want to sow so much havoc that Bush supporters will be defeated in the midterms and the president will face a revolt from his own party, as well as from Democrats, if he does not begin a pullout from Iraq.

[Dale in Atlanta]

Maybe it's just me; but I'd prefer a President who gets a "dollop" of hand sanitizer after shaking hands, than a President who puts a "dollop" on a Blue Dress.....but then again, that's just me...I know I'll get attacked by the Leftists for being fascinated with Clinton's lovelife, but hey, again, that's just me...

[Sue]

Dale,

They complain about the way Bush walks, talks, grins, jokes, sits, stands, rides a bike. Why wouldn't they complain about his use of hand sanitizers?

[Dale in Atlanta]

Sue: I know, they're freaking idiots!

Meanwhile, they're guy, who is like a BILLIONAIRE, had a Valet who he paid $48K a year too, and who had to prepare his Crustless Peanut Butter sandwiches, and NO tomato products, EVER, ad naseum, ad naseum; talk about an elitist, spoiled, panty-waist!

That's what really bugs them; they're liars, and cowards, and elitists, and snobs, looking down their noses at anybody who's from "Red State America"; because, don't you know, they're BETTER than that, and SUPERIOR to you Religious, church-going, Wal Mart shopping, cow-raising Hicks from Hooterville!

It boils down to one thing: ARROGANCE!

[Pofarmer]

more Americans are dying because they're now driving around Bagdhad and getting killed by IEDS.

See, I thought the whole Dem talking point was about how we needed more troops in Iraq. We move in more troops, and now there are too many troops.

It's predictable, but still annoying.

[Pofarmer]

you Religious, church-going, Wal Mart shopping, cow-raising Hicks from Hooterville!

Awww nuts. I hate Wal-Mart. Do I still count?

[Pofarmer]

hmmm

off

[Cecil Turner]

Al Qaeda is winning the war on terror and you people are too blind and stupid to know it.

Other than the obvious (i.e., I suspect it doesn't look like a win from their side), this is a clarion call to an electoral a**-whuppin'. (The fact that some on the left feel the need to provide more than moral support to their philosophical allies is just icing on the cake.) It is perfectly legitimate, even in wartime, to suggest a better course of action. Cheerleading for the enemy is beneath contempt, as is defeatist maundering (or worse, parroting enemy propaganda), which deserves all the scorn that can be heaped upon it.

[Neo]

more Americans are dying because they're now driving around Bagdhad and getting killed by IEDS.

But this is not true. In fact deaths to IEDs has and still is going down, even while total US deaths for the month are up.