Food (And Drink) For Thought

What's On The Candidates' Menus? CBS Reporters Have The Scoop

(CBS)  Those long days and nights on the campaign trail don't always allow for a healthy diet. CBS News reporters covering the presidential race discuss the candidates' dining and drinking habits as they roll through Iowa and New Hampshire.

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I don't know about any of your candidates, but at the end of an event the other night, Edwards DRANK A BEER with a supporter. It was absolutely hysterical; the most out-of-character thing I've seen him do so far.
--Alison Schwartz

Well, my candidate (Wesley Clark) drinks all the time. Do you know how much video I have of him drinking? I have at least a half a dozen clips of him with a drink (three different drinks on 12/31 alone). Sam Adams and Bailey's on the rocks are Clark's favorites. He chose red wine for the New Year's Eve boat cruise.

On New Year's Eve, when they were supposed to go to a little café during Portsmouth's First Night, his wife Gert said she didn't want hot chocolate. "I want a drink." So they went to the Press Room bar and got drinks instead. My kind of people!
--Bonney Kapp

Dean doesn't drink. He eats sweets. Brownies, cookies, spice drops, yesterday an M&M cookie.
--Eric Salzman

Kerry drinks beer, wine; I've only seen him drink red wine. I don't think he likes white. He's always munching on something, admittedly because he forgets to eat meals.

Yesterday he came to the back of the bus and conducted an on the record press avail while eating one of those Zone protein bars.
--Steve Chaggaris

Gephardt likes the Zone bars, as well. He says the mint chocolate chip ones taste like Girl Scout cookies. He likes pie. People are always giving him pies wherever we go. He drank a beer at a fish-fry fundraiser but looked awkward. One night on a flight, our dinner consisted of chowing down on the junk food basket of candy and crackers on board the plane. Other than that he eats pretty well.

Oh, and this is funny. For several months the campaign was giving us – and him – turkey sandwiches, only to find out later he doesn't really like turkey.
--Ben Ferguson

Lieberman is a huge fan of those Cliff bars; says he could fund the company solely on his own purchases. But he's not a nosher, at least not in public. Doesn't eat much at house parties either, save sipping some water.
--Tali Aronsky

Clark eats junk. Popcorn, nuts, gummy bears, Cheetos, beef jerky, malt balls, donuts, you name it. Sometimes we pull the motorcade over so he can buy something. His car is stashed with snacks and a staffer told me that if Gert had her way it would only be fruit in the car. But luckily he swims everyday.
--Kapp

Kerry also loves cupcakes. Whenever we're at a stop in N.H. that's near a bakery, he buys cupcakes. Odd. And he does eat a lot of sugar, candy bars, etc.

We asked him about his weight and he says he thinks he's lost weight since he started campaigning hard. He credits his metabolism considering he's done very little exercise since September. He said that the last time he exercised prior to his N.H. hockey game last week was his Iowa hockey game back in November.
--Chaggaris