Obama: “Stoop So Low as McDonalds”
EmailABC News’ Sunlen Miller reports: Barack Obama often touts his work in the Senate on ethics reform legislation in which meals from lobbyists were eliminated.
At a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H. while talking up his success, he revealed a little bit about his dining establishment preferences with his bravado about the legislation.
Obama recalled a conversation he had with another senator who was giving him grief about working for the meal ban. The other Senator questioned to Obama, “What do you expect me to just start eating at McDonalds all the time?”
Obama recalled his response, “You get paid $160,000 a year, you can even afford Applebee’s, you don’t even have to stoop so low as to eat at McDonalds.”
Some in the crowd were seen raising their eyebrows as Obama, the man who touts himself from the South Side of Chicago, critiqued the popular fast food chain.
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Yep, he just lost my vote!
Kidding,
Go Barack Obama! Out with the old, in with the new!
Posted by: Sam | December 14, 2007, 10:56 pm 10:56 pm
Are you going to give us the entire conversation or just have us guess? What did he say after that comment? Senator Obama was reflecting what the other Senator said to him. I wish we could talk about issues.
Posted by: Lynn | December 14, 2007, 11:05 pm 11:05 pm
The title suggests Obama is denigrating McDonalds.
Then maintains he prefers Applebees to McD’s.
But what about the other senator who brought up the question “What do you expect me to just start eating at McDonalds all the time?”
Um, who’s denigrating McD’s?
And, yea, at $160,000 a year I think he can afford to buy his own lunch like the rest of us Americans do who dine at McDonald’s!
Posted by: Wanda | December 14, 2007, 11:13 pm 11:13 pm
Scrapiron, is that you Mark Penn or Karl Rove.
Posted by: Lynn | December 14, 2007, 11:20 pm 11:20 pm
Not Lovin It
During a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., Barack Obama recalled a conversation he had with a fellow Senator regarding Obamas push for a lobbyist meal ban. He recalled telling the Senator that he didnt have to stoop so low as to e…
Posted by: PoliTimes.com | December 14, 2007, 11:22 pm 11:22 pm
I do believe I ended up in the twilight zone.
Posted by: Wanda | December 14, 2007, 11:25 pm 11:25 pm
Oh wow….Barack Osama, oops Obama can’t do wrong, he is the ONE!
Posted by: Nancy | December 15, 2007, 12:18 am 12:18 am
Nancy, you forgot Hussein. LOL
Posted by: Ted | December 15, 2007, 12:20 am 12:20 am
Yeah, try to be subtle and mention Osama, but luckily, almost everyone has figured out those cheap tricks.
Posted by: unshrub | December 15, 2007, 1:04 am 1:04 am
Can Obama be anymore elitist and supercilious? This is something I have always noticed in him. This arrogance that he is better than everyone else!
Posted by: AS | December 15, 2007, 1:55 am 1:55 am
ISSUES PLEASE!!…
Posted by: earthisnotflat | December 15, 2007, 2:31 am 2:31 am
This is news?? Anyway, you missed the point. He was being sarcastic. Applebees is a bit more expensive than McDonald’s, but it is a chain restaurant, that most wealthy Americans eschew, in favor of those four and five star places. He wasn’t putting down the restaurant chains, he was putting down the attitude that politicians want a free lunch!!!
Posted by: jonnie rae | December 15, 2007, 4:06 am 4:06 am
Jonnie is absolutely correct. It doesn’t take a PhD to see the extreme amount of sarcasm in Obama’s response. But, moreover, this article just doesn’t deserve to exist. It contributes nothing to the national debate, aside from confusing those people not literate enough to understand humor.
Posted by: Walker Yeatman | December 15, 2007, 4:13 am 4:13 am
Sarcasm requires intelligence to be understood.
Obama is not saying that MC-is-wack he is arguing from the other senators point of view.
Not declaring his preference.
—- Whatever happen to the concept of slow-food, is MC not the symbol of “feeding the Pig”
Posted by: jan | December 15, 2007, 6:32 am 6:32 am
Stupidest story ever! You have got to be kidding me.
Posted by: James Thomas | December 15, 2007, 6:50 am 6:50 am
Sam says “I wish we could talk about the issues”. But this is a story about Obama, so the issues aren’t relevant.
Remember Sam? He’s about the audacity of hope? The only reason you’ve even heard of Obama is because the Chicago Tribune got Jack Ryan’s divorce court file opened, otherwise he’s be laboring in the Illinois Senate anonymously.
He doesn’t have any positions on the issues, Sam. He’s a fraud.
Posted by: Jerry | December 15, 2007, 7:25 am 7:25 am
Nothing anyone says in these debates really matters.Seems to me they just use the platform to blame one another for things they so called promise us they would do when they got elected in the first place.I really wish they would spend more time helping the people of this country than going on tv and telling us what the other one didn’t do……..
Posted by: Anthony Aniag | December 15, 2007, 7:35 am 7:35 am
It’s called irony, people. Good grief.
Posted by: LutheranChik | December 15, 2007, 8:08 am 8:08 am
Person of the Year award given to Barack Obama
Posted by: Tom | December 15, 2007, 8:34 am 8:34 am
Is this really a headline or am I still asleep? Are we really talking about candidates’ fast food preferences now?
Posted by: nctodc | December 15, 2007, 8:37 am 8:37 am
Relax, dear posters. You’re reading too much into it. Obama’s staying true to his liberal, eleatist, self. I know, he’s my senator! He’ better than we are!
Posted by: donh525 | December 15, 2007, 9:15 am 9:15 am
Sunlin Miller is obviously clueless. B.O.s remark was an obvious sarcastic slap at his fellow senator who was whining about the food ban. It was his colleague who dissed McD.s not B.O.
Posted by: Roninacreage | December 15, 2007, 9:37 am 9:37 am
Sunlin Miller is obviously clueless. B.O.s remark was an obvious sarcastic slap at his fellow senator who was whining about the food ban. It was his colleague who dissed McD.s not B.O.
Posted by: Roninacreage | December 15, 2007, 9:42 am 9:42 am
Oh the horrors!!! Gosh, who can vote for him now???
Come on ABC…give us some real issues. This is utter nonsense!
Posted by: Nate | December 15, 2007, 10:13 am 10:13 am
Remmember we are not suppose to say anything unfavorable to Hussein Obama. He is the media’s darling Mr. perfect. He can do drugs march with Musslims and not respect the flag. He can also deal with racketeers and have illegal deals. But we must not say anything. Set your cannons toward Hillary the most critize candidate of any era. Republicans applaud how the media and the people have taken a bite of your bait.
Posted by: Arturo Universal City,Tx | December 15, 2007, 10:46 am 10:46 am
I would like to know, whats wrong about eating at Macdonalds, its the american way. You dont have to be poor to like to eat at Macdonalds but thas what mObama is saying. Sham on you, have you forgotten your roots…….. I think so
Vote for Hillery Clinton all the way she wont let you down. We need experience people. Wake up
Posted by: Debbie Auger | December 15, 2007, 10:55 am 10:55 am
Is this a news story?
Posted by: krenkel | December 15, 2007, 12:15 pm 12:15 pm
I’m sure Obama’s better than you. Isn’t he?
Did you graduate Magna Cum Laude from an ivy league school? Did you organize tons of people and make their lives better?
Posted by: joseph pierre | December 15, 2007, 12:21 pm 12:21 pm
I started to change my mind about Obama, I am realizing he is cocky, egomaniac and to full of himself.
Doesn’t surprise me know his McDonalds comment, I think think he never liked burgers since he grow up in Indonesia.
Obama don’t mess with McDonalds, you are out. I will not vote for you anymore.
You are President wannabe! bye bye
Posted by: Jane | December 15, 2007, 1:23 pm 1:23 pm
Sounds like sarcasm. I’m sure a Senator would never think to go to an Applebee’s either. The fact is he did something great and this website seems worried he’s knocking McDonalds.
Posted by: Anthony | December 15, 2007, 1:37 pm 1:37 pm
You guys.. lighten up .. read the quote for what it is worth. Then let the moment pass with a smile.. Lets get onto serious matter. We have to make the right decision for the next 4 years. After these 7 years that have gone by, lets take life as it really is..huh..
Posted by: mlg | December 15, 2007, 3:54 pm 3:54 pm
I love a quick bite at Mac’s but I don’t want the politician representing me standing in line waiting for fries when he should be taking care of business in Washington!
Posted by: john Delaney | December 15, 2007, 4:17 pm 4:17 pm
This quote which is out of context was from the part of his speech where he was talking about how he passed campaign reform against lobbyists in which the reform that he helped passed prevented lobbyists from buying meals for congressmen.
The other Senator questioned to Obama, “What do you expect me to just start eating at McDonalds all the time?”
Obama said in sarcasm that the senator who was opposed to this reform could afford to even eat at applebees.
Nobody was offended at all. The crowd laughed. This blogs title and conveyance of the real story is a joke and a lie.
Posted by: wong | December 15, 2007, 6:36 pm 6:36 pm
Once again this illustrates how BO, Barack Obama, is out of touch with ordinary Americans. This reminds me of his arugula comments in Iowa. He also told Iowa farmers to grow crops only Californians can grow.
He is really out of touch.
Posted by: truthteller2007 | December 15, 2007, 6:48 pm 6:48 pm
OMG, I can’t believe this is supposed to be an actual news story. Why don’t you show the clip. I watched this speech on CSPAN today and it was an obvious sarcastic remark. Good grief, you people are really reaching on this one.
That said, I’d respect this man even more if he actually did claim that McDonald’s was “low”. It’s absolute garbage and part of the reason Americans are such fat unhealthy pigs. Particuarly our children!
Posted by: Tess | December 15, 2007, 7:52 pm 7:52 pm
The ironic thing about this the McDonald brothers who with great entrepreneurial spirit traveled across America to found in Southern California the hamburger chain that still bears their name were from Manchester NH.
Posted by: Rick | December 15, 2007, 9:21 pm 9:21 pm
well, I suppose in line with his comment to Iowans about arugula at Whole Foods there is no Whole Foods in Iowa)or his comment on Nightline word for word “Rural Iowans not as ingrown, parochial as perceived”..
Posted by: bablan | December 15, 2007, 9:44 pm 9:44 pm
As now many have pointed out, Obama was making fun of the colleague who thought that giving up free 4 star meals was a huge sacrifice.
Posted by: RaymondA | December 15, 2007, 9:56 pm 9:56 pm
Really ABC, what the … were you thinking? How is this a story?
I had fish for dinner. How about you report on that? It’s every bit as relevant to the nation’s interest. It was a tasty fish.
Posted by: Jason | December 16, 2007, 12:03 am 12:03 am
Geez…Obama was being sarcastic about his colleague’s indignation…must everything about Obama be turned into a hit job? This is getting stupid.
Posted by: Chima | December 16, 2007, 1:55 am 1:55 am
This IS not news.
This IS simpleton indigestion.
Posted by: QUESTION HILLARY tm | December 16, 2007, 8:07 am 8:07 am
Good grief! Either the folks getting upset about this are too dumb to know sarcasm when they hear it or I want some of what they are smoking. Just think. If Hillary gets her way, the food police will do away with all fast food. The government nannies will shut down everything that they deem unhealthy for us. That should be our concern. Besides this whole article is not news. It was a feeble attempt at injecting humor. Vote for adults. Vote Republican.
Posted by: hsech | December 16, 2007, 12:26 pm 12:26 pm
You can tell in his choice of wording, that Obama is clearly being sarcastic.
this fits under the philosophy of:
If you ask a stupid Question* you might a stupid answer.
Posted by: Aaron | August 19, 2008, 6:28 pm 6:28 pm