"politics" news and stories

So the presidential debate is on after all! And I know the number one question on your mind is not "how will McCain's fiscal policies differ from Bush's?" or "how will Obama deal with the Iran question?" but rather, "what to eat?"

Well, I've got a few suggestions for snacks, based on the candidate's own favorite foods and studies of Democratic and Republican food habits. Serve all the food on blue and red plates and make a game out of it. When one candidate makes a winning point, you eat a snack from the opposite party. When McCain corners Obama into admitting the troop surge in Iraq was successful, you eat a Democratic snack. When Obama says "McCain" and "Big Oil" in the same sentence, eat a red snack. Whichever side has more snacks left at the end wins!

1. Obama, having lived in Chicago for most of his life, enjoys the city's famous deep dish pizza. Turn pizza into a snack with this Food Network recipe for pizza bites. But keep it All-American by subbing out the mascarpone for some less-exotic mozzarella cheese. Add pineapple for a Hawaiian-childhood flair! McCain loves the Tex-Mex cuisine of his native Arizona. Serve these burriquitas (mini burritos) with a side of salsa (but not too spicy - you don't want to appear volatile).

2. According to Urbanspoon's "steak/sushi index", you can predict which cities skew more Democratic or Republican based solely on their number of sushi (Democrat) or steak (Republican) restaurants. So bust out the sushi mat and roll yourself some Obama Rolls (fried eggplant and fresh spinach). Throw some red meat to the Repubs with these steak and potato kebabs from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

3. McCain supporters are said to favor Hardees and family dining chains like Fuddruckers. Copious amounts of ground beef, anyone? Make your Republican burgers bite-sized, with this Emeril Lagasse recipe for sirloin sliders with bacon. Obama fans go for mall favorites like the Cheesecake Factory and Panera Bread. Try this copycat recipe of the Cheesecake Factory's famous (infamous?) fried macaroni and cheese balls.

4. Obama is known to brag about his famous chili. He's even provided America with the recipe, which you can snack-ify by serving it in mini bread cups. Cindy McCain's family recipe farfalle pasta with turkey sausage and mushrooms (Copyright the Food Network) doesn't make great finger food, so try a riff on lemon chicken (her real favorite, according to the Guardian) instead - serve cold lemon chicken salad on crackers or slices of baguette instead.

Tip: Keep some nice sorbet in the freezer to use as a palate cleanser whenever an nauseous homily about "small-town values" and "not playing politics" makes you throw up a little in your mouth. I like Bon Appetit's lemon buttermilk version.

The ever topical entrepreneurs behind Jones Soda have set up an ancillary site at campaigncola.com to tout their new line of politically-based sodas, and spill a little electoral info while they're at it. While copy touts the benefits of being able to ensure the victory of one's chosen candidate via financial support (the "winner" is the candidate whose bottles sell in greatest quantity), the site also contains a handy "Voting Vernacular" page, information about voter registration, and access to a politically-oriented section of the Jones Soda message boards.

While some might argue that save for a few cosmetic details, the "candidates" are essentially identical, or that Jones is just trying to make a buck off the partisan divide, I'm thinking that's pretty much politics as usual.

[via Campaign Cola]

Have you ever sighed silently when someone told you they were a vegetarian, assuming they were a dogmatic, tofu-eating hippie? If so, read this essay by Taylor Clark on Slate, debunking various anti-vegetarian myths. No, vegetarians are not (necessarily) dull-palated, content to eat mushy vegetables and Gardenburgers. No, most vegetarians aren't interested in lecturing you about your steak (unless they're just jerks), so feel free to invite them to your barbecue. No, they're not silently judging you.

So don't lecture them about how being a vegetarian is silly, bad for your health, or against God's will. And no, just because they're wearing leather shoes doesn't make them total hypocrites - "I'd still say that doing something beats doing nothing," he writes. "It's kind of like driving a hybrid: not a solution to the global-warming dilemma but a decent start."

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Every Olympic year, the torch goes on a journey from Athens to wherever the Games will be held that year, making stops in a good number of participating countries. This time, the Olympic torch will make only one stop in the US: San Francisco. And Ben and Jerry's is headed there, too.

Ben and Jerry's is sending a caravan to that city to intercept the torch. The move is intended to bring attention to China's involvement in Sudan. The hope is that the three vehicle convoy, which each carry a replica of the Olympic torch and sport mobile billboards, will put a spotlight back on the troubled Darfur region.

The torch is scheduled to be in San Francisco on April 9th. The arrival of Ben and Jerry's caravan is slated to be the same date. The vehicles will make stops at college campus' and Ben and Jerry's stores along the way. Wow! What do you think about this one?

Every time I get on the phone with my mom these days, we find ourselves in a political conversation, weighing the pros and cons of the candidates running in the Democratic primary (I come from a long line of registered Dems). Neither of us have made up our minds, mostly because we're still mourning John Edwards' exit from the race. However, for the rest of you out there who have made up your minds, you can tell the world which candidate you're supporting with a kitchen apron. Both the Hillary and Obama aprons are available on Cafepress.

There aren't as many good aprons for the Republican candidates out there. The Kitchn (where I learned about all these cool aprons) featured one sporting Romney's (although as of yesterday, he is out of the race) face as well as one that pairs New York City Mayor Bloomberg with Ron Paul. That picture is after the jump.

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