7-Eleven Capitol-izes on "Slurpee Summit" Hype
President Obama and prospective Speaker of the House Republican John Boehner haven't clunked Slurpees or clinked bipartisan glasses of champagne quite yet, but that hasn't stopped 7-Eleven from capitol-izing on the frozen beverage's recent hype.
CBS News' Mark Knoller first coined the term, made famous in a more recent presidential news conference, in early October. He suggested Democrats and Republican leaders have a "Slurpee Summit" after noticing just how many times the president mentioned the 7-Eleven signature on the campaign trail.
"We're down there. It's hot. We were sweating. Bugs everywhere. We're down there pushing, pushing, pushing on the car. Every once in a while we'd look up and see the Republicans standing there. They're just standing there fanning themselves -- sipping on a Slurpee."
After Mr. Obama called Slurpees "delicious drinks" in the news conference after Election Day, 7-Eleven introduced a new flavor, "purple for the people," which of course, is the color you get when you combine red and blue, colors that define the Republican and Democrat parties.
Mr. Obama and Boehner were invited to attend a summit 7-Eleven threw in downtown D.C. Thursday evening, but just like the meeting previously planned for the two parties at the White House, neither were represented at the chain's "Slurpee Summit."
"Washington Unplugged" was there though and even got summit organizers to offer amends to Knoller for stealing his flavor. He can have "all the Slurpees he can drink," organizers told CBS News.
