You Are What You Eat

The New York Times reports that food preferences actually reveal who you will likely vote for in November.

If there’s butter and white wine in your refrigerator and Fig Newtons in the cookie jar, you’re likely to vote for Hillary Clinton. Prefer olive oil, Bear Naked granola and a latte to go? You probably like Barack Obama, too. And if you’re leaning toward John McCain, it’s all about kicking back with a bourbon and a stuffed crust pizza while you watch the Democrats fight it out next week in Pennsylvania. … Dr Pepper is a Republican soda. Pepsi-Cola and Sprite are Democratic. So are most clear liquors, like gin and vodka, along with white wine and Evian water. Republicans skew toward brown liquors like bourbon or scotch, red wine and Fiji water. When it comes to fried chicken, he said, Democrats prefer Popeyes and Republicans Chick-fil-A.

Democrats drink Evian water and eat food marketed as “Naked.” Surprise, surprise. Times reporters have this odd vision of modern political campaigns as involving lots of discussion about “soccer moms” and other stupid names given to niche voting blocs. They also seem to think brain scans are a big part of the game. Now the next big thing is what food voters eat. I have no doubt there are many so-called “microtargeting experts” out there. It is telling that Mark Penn prides himself as one of them, since he completely overlooked the big picture in steering the Hillary campaign into a brick wall. Here’s a scoop: food preferences don’t often change, yet candidate preferences do. When someone who previously thought he was going to vote for Obama decides ultimately to pull the lever for McCain, he doesn’t switch from Bear Naked Cereal to Fiber One. And many of the food differences identified in the article clearly have more to do with regional differences than party affiliation. In parts of this great nation, they drink Dr. Pepper. New York just isn’t one of them. And as several WEEKLY STANDARD contributors will attest, Popeyes Chicken is loved by all.

Related Content