Birthday boy Bush to skip Scottish delicacy at G8 summit

[MindLikeAParachute]

LONDON (AFP) - US
President George W. Bush might be celebrating his 59th birthday at next week's G8 summit in Scotland, but he will politely rebuff attempts to mark the event with the country's culinary delicacy, haggis.

"Yes, haggis, I was briefed on haggis," Bush said in an interview with Britain's Times newspaper when asked if he was tempted to try the dish, a concoction of chopped meat and oatmeal wrapped in a sheep's stomach, adding: "No."

"Generally, on your birthday, my mother used to say: 'What do you want to eat?' and I don't ever remember saying: 'Haggis, mom,'" Bush added in the interview, published in the paper's Thursday edition.

Nor would he be tempted to don a kilt, the tartan skirt-like apparel beloved of Scots, for the traditional G8 leaders' joint photograph, Bush said.
...
The best he could hope for was that he and wife Laura might "walk around together, holding hands in the Scottish mist".
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050629/od_afp/g8summitusbush_050629223326;_ylt=AgFSUkyTpP5O0b1wz86tT5Cs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-

[acmavm]

1. The dates that Barbara bush** gave birth should be remembered

as a national or internation tragedy.

[bitchkitty]

30. Remember that scene in The Omen,

When they opened Damien's mother's grave and inside the coffin was the skeleton of a jackal?

[MaineDem]

2. It would be polite to try it

At least appear to try it! George, you're an idiot and you keep proving it over and over.

[Zuni]

28. I couldn't do it

Haggis is just revolting....

[Henny Penny]

33. I've tried it and it was quite nice!

It was the 'neeps that I wasn't too fond of. Perhaps * would try it if he could have a wee dram to wash it down ;-)

:beer:

[chelsea0011]

3. Everything he says is like it comes from the mind of a 3 year old child

there is nothing adult in his smirky face.

[leftchick]

7. nah, a two year old.

how did we end up with such a fucking dork?

[mrfrapp]

15. No more Brocolli on the White House Menu

Wah! Wah! Wah!

[unhappycamper]

4. * is a worthless piece of shit.

I know I'm giving shit a bad name, but I can't help it. :puke:

[4MoreYearsOfHell]

5. "walk around together, holding hands in the Scottish mist".

Forgive me, but when I read the above bogs came to mind...

Deep ones...

[SlavesandBulldozers]

11. he's going to make his Saudi beau jealous

nt

[Dudley_DUright]

17. or perhaps he will do us all a favor and find "Brigadoon"

and disappear for 100 years with it.

[goddess40]

6. Write this down - I agree with *

it's a first and it will probably be the only time I ever agree with him.
Maybe it wants to avoid repeating his dad's barfing embarassment.

[Gunit_Sangh]

16. Unfortunately I agree with * also

Hell, I wouldn't try it either!

One of the most memorial statements made by poppa * when he was president was when he was asked why brocoli (it might have been some other green veggie) was never served at the White House.

His reply was something like -- When I was growing up my Mother made me eat brocoli. Now that I'm President, I think I can decide to eat what I want. (not the exact words but something similar)

I hate shrub as much as anyone on this forum, but golly, isn't this taking it a bit over the top?

[Demit]

8. He was BRIEFED on haggis?

Nowhere in his 59 years did he ever come across one single reference to it? After all that expensive schooling, and he still loves to show off his ignorance. Some world leader.

[MaineDem]

9. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[rodeodance]

10. seems the only cultural custom he likes is to hold hands?

[Bismillah]

12. Fair fa' yer honest sonsy face/ Great chieftain o' the puddin' race...

Burns was right, Bush is wrong. He doesn't know what he's missing. Haggis is a Scotsman's soul food, and it's finger-lickin' good. You can even get sheep-free vegetarian haggis (Yum-yum.)

Anyway, I hope he goes swimming in Loch Ness.

[postulater]

13. Haggis is fine

It's the blood pudding that gags me.

[liveoaktx]

14. A man who eats FRIED COW BALLS won't eat haggis?

[BiggJawn]

19. Not sure I would either.

From what I've read, Haggis is a lot like Lutefisk.
It's one of those things you eat because it's so firmly cemented in your cultural identity.

[sweetheart]

27. They snuck it on to my plate at a fine scottish restaurant

And i thought it was great. It goes very well with a steak or
venison. Many cultures have ways of preparing an animal stomach
for eating.

Blood sausage was, as i learned from local scots, often made at the
end of winter when food stocks ran low.. tap a little blood from the
cow for some protein and not kill the animal.

In all honesty, the real scottish dish is a "chippie" or a "curry" and
a haggis is rather old-school. You can get vegetarian haggises that
are pretty good at the supermarket... linda mcarteny has touched
all things.

[ikri]

18. You think...

* would ever eat any form of processed food again if he knew what crap went into it? Maybe someone should tempt him into doing a full investigation of what garbage enters the food system.

At least with Haggis you *know* that there's a sheep's stomach involved. Once you get over the fact that what you're eating was cooked in a sheep's stomach, Haggis is delicious.

I'm glad he's not going to wear a kilt though, it would be very disrespectful to the clan who's tartan he was going to wear.

[Algorem]

20. funny how the word 'hag is' makes him think of his mommy

[tonekat]

21. Spreading the stereotype of the bland American palate

Heck, I had some reserves about trying something with sheep lungs in it, but I ended up having two servings!

Doesn't Commander CuckooBananas know about the filthy chicken processing plants in this country? Oh wait, he's a "Texan" (ha!) Mad Cow?

If you can eat liverwurst, you can eat haggis! I guess he would opt out of using the whiskey sauce that's served alongside haggis. His loss.

[peekaloo]

22. Guerillas in the mist.

"The best he could hope for was that he and wife Laura might "walk around together, holding hands in the Scottish mist".

How fitting since they both walk around in a fog most of the time.


p.s. Happy Birthday.....eat shit.

[sweetheart]

26. Actually "Midges" in the mist

Midge season has arrived, and when you walk around in the cool mist,
you are attacked by literally thousands of tiny biting insects.

THen he'll be lost in a fog being sucked by a bunch of vampires and
killing whichever ones he can by swatting them with his beefy hands.

How romantic. :-)

[peekaloo]

29. That's hilarious!

:D

[alarcojon]

23. So why refuse to don the kilt?

I can sort of see the decision not to try the Haggis, but what's wrong with a little kilt action? Doesn't make him look manly enough?

[tanyev]

24. I CALL BULLSHIT!!!

Remember the story of young Georgie working on sheep farm in Scotland as a wee lad? He never heard of haggis then? Never even tried it? This is a 100% fluff PR piece. (Shocking, I know.)

President 'Mungo' Bush - Texan Scottish Sheep-Hand

President George Bush today recalled working on a Scottish sheep farm as a 14-year-old and joked about the name “Mungo”.

It happened as he was being interviewed at the White House by European journalists ahead of his trip to Belgium, Germany and Slovakia, beginning tomorrow.

That prompted the president to tell a tale about meeting a Texan when he worked on a sheep farm in Scotland in the 1950s.

“I worked there as a 14-year-old kid,” Bush said. “I went from Texas to Scotland to work on a sheep farm. I’m riding a bike. ... A big tour bus stops. They got off and a woman with a Texas accent (said): ‘Look at the little Scottish boy!’
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4152597

[Catchawave]

25. Does he eat hot dogs and sausage ?

Last I heard they're wrapped in pig intestines :shrug:

Not to mention what some of the ingredients are in those tasty items!

[Zuni]

31. To be fair

I would do exactly as Bush is doing. I have no desire to eat sheep organs filled with onions and oatmeal. The thought is nauseating. I hate onions, and the wrapping isn't appetizing either

And I love Scrapple, btw. I am no food snob

[SKKY]

32. OK, I'm not a fan of the guy, but I find it impossible to hold this...

...against him. I've tried haggis and it's absolutely repulsive.