Red, Light, and Blue

from Today's papers/slate.com

As Obama prepares to have beers with Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. and James Crowley, the police sergeant who arrested Gates, the Wall Street Journal takes a look at how some aren't too happy with what they'll be drinking.

There are those who don't think the president should be promoting alcohol in the first place. Why not just have a friendly conversation over a glass of lemonade or iced tea? But the biggest outcry is coming from brewers.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs suggested that each of the participant's favorite beers would be on hand: Red Stripe for Gates and Blue Moon for Crowley. The president will be drinking Bud Light.

The problem? They're all made by foreign companies.

"We would hope they would pick a family-owned, American beer to lubricate the conversation," said a spokesman for the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. The head of Harpoon Brewery wanted to get his beer in the White House but didn't know how. "I think just showing up at the gate with a case of Harpoon would make them look at us funny."
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factchecker Sam Goodman pointed out that BlueMoon is actually owned by a domestic company.

(but it's brewed in Canada.)