Beers across America

So, by now everybody and his uncle who cares about such things saw that Jim Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department, Skip Gates, Joe Biden and Barack Obama (you know, just four regular guys) sat down and had beers. I personally found the scene depicted above rather troubling.

Now I'm almost certain that Jim is drinking a Blue Moon. It is definitely a hefeweizen. Nice Jim...nice.

Skip reported that he liked Red Stripe. That is a perfectly respectable choice, though I have it on good authority that unless you get it and drink in in Jamaica, it is just not the same. The beer in his glass, however, does not look like Red Stripe to me. That, my dear friends, is not pilsner lager.

Here's where things get bad, though. It has been widely reported that Messrs. Obama and Biden would be drinking (gag) Bud Light. The #1 and #2 leaders of the free world can do no better than Bud Light? In the immortal words of Studs Terkel, "It's not the bomb we have to worry about...it's banality. We aren't going to go out in a big bang. We're going to go with a sigh." [from our 1997 Forum Wisdom of Sages]

There is some hope, however. I have polled some experts on the subject who have these recommendations for the President about a proper beer to drink...

Erin: Black Butte Porter, Deuschutes Brewery
Becky: Something by Sam Adams, Boston Brewery...not elitist but tasty. Many options for every palate.
Benjamin: Ballast Point IPA, San Diego OR Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Leon: Sam Adams Summer or any of the seasonals
Katlyn: Said something about blueberry beer, but it was starting to get a little fuzzy at theis point.

And I? Well, I have two favorite beers: free and cold. After that, I'm no connoisseur.

Speaking of race relations...if you really wanted to find divergent yet thoughtful ideas about race in America, who would you choose? How about, oh...William F. Buckley and Chuck D.?