White House Makes Good on Hockey Bet with Canada
EmailFrom Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller
The White House made good on a losing bet today with Canada over the Men’s Hockey game at last month's Olympics in Vancouver.
If the US won, Prime Minister Harper was to purchase Yuengling beer for President Obama. If the Canada emerges victorious, President Obama will purchase a case of Molson Canadian for Prime Minister Harper. In addition White House press secretary Robert Gibbs bet his Canadian counterpart, Dimitri Soudas whoever lost would have to wear the winning team's hockey jersey at an on-camera briefing.
Canada won, and today the White House finally paid off their bets.
Donning a white and red Team Canada jersey, Gibbs said during the top of today’s daily press briefing, “ I am making good on my aspect of my wager with Dimitri, my Canadian counterpart, who is somewhere several hundred miles north, laughing.”
Gibbs posed for pictures from the podium, turning around and showing his name stitched on the back and #39 – for the United States goalie, Ryan Miller, and the tournament MVP.
The Canadian jersey, Gibbs said, was getting warm – so he took it off to revel a red, white and blue USA hockey underneath, which he wore for most of the briefing.
“I have one official government announcement,” Gibbs said with a smirk, “We've instructed the embassy, our embassy and our ambassador, to make arrangements to deliver one case of Molson Canadian and one case of Yuengling Lager from Pottsville, Pennsylvania — America's oldest brewery — to the prime minister's office today. I'm sure Dimitri will take most of that home and consume it.”
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Obama is drinking like a Canadian .
Posted by: nat turner | March 12, 2010, 3:22 pm 3:22 pm
Hockey was the best part of the Olympics, and
being from Pa…. Yuengling Lager is excellent !!
Posted by: PO'd | March 12, 2010, 4:01 pm 4:01 pm
Obo finally keeps a promise! Peace Bro.
Posted by: jerry | March 12, 2010, 4:22 pm 4:22 pm
I thought the bet was we would implement Canadian style health care if we lost the hockey game.
Posted by: Denbo | March 12, 2010, 4:23 pm 4:23 pm
Hockey Soda..as we used to say in the Philly area..
Gibbs reminds me of the fat Canadian on Total Drama Island.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | March 12, 2010, 4:28 pm 4:28 pm
So now Obama is a bootlegger? Isn’t in illegal to mail alcohol? If they transport it by vehicle I sure hope Obama declares the alcohol and pays the proper duty to the Canadian tax authorities. I also demand the information on the actual amount of tax paid, delivery method, and that no public funds were used in this photo op. Obama made me sick when he jinxed the USA hockey team by picking them. He should stick to sports he likes and plays and not jinx any more sports. Please also stay away from baseball, Barry.
Posted by: Ed | March 12, 2010, 4:33 pm 4:33 pm
Barry probably knows as much about hockey as he does running a country. I wonder how many hockey games he has been too? My guess, zip!
Posted by: Shermani | March 12, 2010, 4:51 pm 4:51 pm
The final Kennedy leaves the Congress and now liquor goes from the U.S. to Canada (rather than the way the Kennedy’s transported whiskey).
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | March 12, 2010, 4:55 pm 4:55 pm
Obama made me sick when he jinxed the USA hockey team by picking them.
Posted by: Ed | Mar 12, 2010 4:33:40 PM
___________________________________
Ed people on the Republican right should start believing in facts and rational approaches instead of superstitious voodoo like ‘jinxing’.
It’s okay when you’re a kid, but really as an adult dealing in politics, superstitious beliefs aren’t the most reliable.
Posted by: tierra | March 12, 2010, 5:48 pm 5:48 pm
Hockey Soda..as we used to say in the Philly area..
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow
Flyers announcers use to call it ‘canadian ginger ale’…. and I had a few with some of them and every now and then, team members ;-)
Posted by: PO'd | March 12, 2010, 6:13 pm 6:13 pm
Hehehe…. one reads all the “right-whiner” comments here, turning this simple bet into a “conspiracy theory”… LOL … what else can you say, but, “Oh geeze! The brains on these folks!”
Posted by: GeorgieBushie | March 12, 2010, 6:36 pm 6:36 pm
Tierra: interesting that an Obama adherent should bring up voodoo of all things! As I recall it wasn’t my mother-in-law who, alledgedly, performed voodoo (aka Santeria) rituals and might have done so in the White House. Or had new-age witches (Wiccans) do a ritual to “cleanse” the White House!
ps: Obama did jinx the team and I’ll ask Michelle’s mom to confirm it next time I see here conjuring.
Posted by: Ed | March 12, 2010, 7:16 pm 7:16 pm
I am really tired of seeing Gibbs, Holden, Emanuel, Axelrod, Michelle, and Obama EVERY TIME I open my eyes. Have we already seen press man Gibbs more times than we saw President Bush in 8 years? When is the press going to awaken from their trance and INVESTIGATE AND REPORT on what is truly going on, instead of covering these people as if they are rock stars.
Posted by: wheresmymoney | March 12, 2010, 8:46 pm 8:46 pm
don’t think bush did this when canada kicked usa ‘eh in 2002
Posted by: sam04son | March 12, 2010, 9:00 pm 9:00 pm
Posted by: Ed | Mar 12, 2010 7:16:34 PM
Ed you’re conspiracy, jinxing mind is on vacation. You might want to consider lessons on avoiding hypocrisy and smear mongering.
Posted by: tierra | March 12, 2010, 9:51 pm 9:51 pm
The photo reminds me again that the president, Obama of USA has never won
any games and bets.
Posted by: Jasmin | March 12, 2010, 11:24 pm 11:24 pm
I love the friendly bet. Robert Gibbs did a great job on delivering the friendly bet as well. It is nice to see some news that makes you chuckle. I hope there are more friendly bets in the future.
Posted by: godhearus | March 13, 2010, 12:43 am 12:43 am
I find this so funny that the prez can’t have a simple bet with friends without the rightie-wingies becoming insane over it. I am sure Bush had a few bets with friends while in the WH, and like clockwork I am sure the Leftie-wingies hated him for that as well. It would nice to have one week where people were totally objective about EVERYTHING they said and did. Yes, I am a dreamer but oh well! ;-)
Posted by: DB | March 13, 2010, 1:56 am 1:56 am
am really tired of seeing Gibbs, Holden, Emanuel, Axelrod, Michelle, and Obama EVERY TIME I open my eyes. Have we already seen press man Gibbs more times than we saw President Bush in 8 years? When is the press going to awaken from their trance and INVESTIGATE AND REPORT on what is truly going on, instead of covering these people as if they are rock stars.
Posted by: wheresmymoney | Mar 12, 2010 8:46:04 PM _____________________________________
it’s no different than it ever was. the only difference is now you have some sort of personal disdain for those you see regularly. Bush, McClellen, Ari Fliesher, Dana Perino, etc were in our face constantly for 8 years.
Want some cheese with your whine?
Posted by: dk | March 13, 2010, 4:03 am 4:03 am
it’s all just honest fun so why join in and have some fun with it for a change and set aside your partisan rants….we’ve become a society of ultre sensitive weenies………unless of course our “side” is doing something then it’s just fine and dandy….
Posted by: skip | March 13, 2010, 4:07 am 4:07 am
I am sick of Gibbs looking like a clown, and constantly joking. This is a serious time in our history, and he makes a mockery out of the White House or as Michelle likes to say the “peoples house”.
Obama’s love to throw lavish parties in the “peoples house” while the real people are suffering with high unemployment, foreclosures, etc. I am glad they are having a good time on our dime.
The Obama administration is surreal – there are times I cannot believe what I see and hear. Unreal.
Posted by: jlp | March 13, 2010, 9:31 am 9:31 am
I am sick of Gibbs looking like a clown…
Posted by: jlp | Mar 13, 2010 9:31:25 AM
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You are so right, jlp!!! What the heck!! At the librul web site Huffington Post, I read that “If the Democrats lose the House during the 2010 elections, Gibbs will appear in the briefing room with his skin dyed to the color of the inside of a pomegranate, like John Boehner.”
What a joke!! How dare they make fun of fake tans (OR pomegranates!!!)
Posted by: adversus solem ne loquitor | March 13, 2010, 10:03 am 10:03 am
Thank God, we finally have a president that can get along with our neighbors. He even pronounces their names correctly! I think this is a refrehingly good story about our good neighbors to the North, Good Game, your team played excellently!
Posted by: able | March 13, 2010, 2:40 pm 2:40 pm
Obama lost again…. this time against Canada’s hockey team…
let me think… Obama should be happy because he is on the right track of being 100%….
100% of accomplishing nothing as SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE said ” NADA, NOPE, NOTHING TO SHOW”
AT LEAST HE IS STILL 100%….
Posted by: graymatter | March 13, 2010, 2:48 pm 2:48 pm
I would say I can’t beleive you folks have turned such a simple, diplomatic act into a political Democrats vs. Republicans P’ing contest.
But some of you have displayed time and time again that you can’t discuss whether the sun came up this morning without blaming or praising the President.
Get a grip folks, our President losing a silly bet about which country would win Olympic hockey reflects in no way on his intelligence OR lack thereof.
Who did you think President Obama would bet on besides the US team?
Posted by: malcat | March 13, 2010, 4:51 pm 4:51 pm
Wow, the White House actually KEPT a promise. THAT is news… Too bad it was in regard to Canada and NOT the American people!!!
Posted by: jafo | March 13, 2010, 7:18 pm 7:18 pm
For those who would want to start bashing Obama, how would you compare this to Bush in fight outfit declaring, “mission accomplished” when infact we lost the mission in Iraq? In the case of Obama and canada, I would see it as simply a true spirit of sportmanship and friendliness compared to Bush’s strategic military blunder that has cost the nation thousands of lives and billions of dollars.
Posted by: what667 | March 13, 2010, 8:17 pm 8:17 pm
Obama lost again…. this time against Canada’s hockey team.
Posted by: graymatter
I must have missed his shifts when he was on the ice, what number was he wearing, what position?
Posted by: PO'd | March 14, 2010, 12:34 am 12:34 am
refreshing just to see people being people instead playing politics as politicians!
Posted by: rob | March 14, 2010, 4:24 am 4:24 am
refreshing just to see people being people instead playing politics as politicians!
Posted by: rob | March 14, 2010, 4:24 am 4:24 am
“If the Canada emerges victorious…”
WTH? “The Canada”?
It’s either “If Canada emerges victorious…” or “If the Canadian team emerges victorious….”
I understand that ABC employs blind seeing-eye dogs for proofreaders, but I would expect a “professional” journalist to proofread his own blog before publishing it.
This sounds just as ignorant as people that refer to citizens of Belgium as “the Belgiums.”
Posted by: JaylahPriest | March 14, 2010, 5:52 am 5:52 am
yes ….don’t think bush did this when canada kicked usa ‘eh in 2002…
Posted by: Ilan Ben Menachem | March 18, 2010, 5:42 am 5:42 am