Bottoms Up: Just Another Saturday Night For Clinton? Shot of Whiskey, Beer and Pizza

12 April 2008
by Fernando Suar

CROWN POINT, IND. -- Hillary Clinton mingled with patrons at Bronko’s Restaurant and Lounge in northwest Indiana on Saturday night. After a long day of campaigning Clinton was cajoled into taking a shot of Crown Royal whisky, which she sipped at first, but later threw her head back and swallowed it down. That led to a few beers and some pizza.

A pizza-chomping Clinton sat at a table where she talked about the importance of keeping manufacturing jobs in the state. Clinton then called over the mayor of Hammond, Ind., Tom Hammond, saying, “Tom, Tom, come sit down.” A gentleman next to Clinton said Hammond was probably at the bar. Clinton joked that “my campaign drives people to drink.” Hammond finally approached Clinton, saying “every time I get around you we always start drinking!”

“That’s true,” Clinton said. “It is Saturday night, though.”

At one point Clinton pointed out to her friends that she can’t go anywhere without the press right there covering her every move. “The only other thing about having this wonderful time with you is that every bite I take is recorded for posterity,” Clinton said as she ate her pizza.

“These two young people are really very, very nice,” Clinton said, pointing to me and my ABC colleague. “But their job is to get something on film that looks really weird, so you know I try to accommodate them every so often,” Clinton said, winking to us.

Clinton’s visit to the small, local eatery was no doubt part of a broader plan to showcase Clinton as a candidate of the people. And although Clinton is no stranger to late night drinks with the press and her staff, she usually prefers red wine or the trendy wheat ale Blue Moon with a slice of orange, not the watery light beer in the glass mug she waved in the air so proudly as the crowd chanted her name.