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President Bush was in Cleveland yesterday.  Even though I was invited (often when the leader of the free world’s in town I’m able to squirrel an invitation - whether it’s Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, or Bush II), I chose to skip the event - my work schedule’s kept me on my toes lately, and I’ve just got way too many things on my plate to be able to take the afternoon out to hear the President deliver a speech that I’ve heard so many times before.  I appreciate his desire to stay the course in Iraq, but I’ve heard that one before and the path which the course follows seems to be not very well-kept by our partners in Iraq.

After a visit to a local manufacturer for the obligatory ‘this company is an example of one of my administration’s initiatives’, President Bush (like other presidents before him - Bill Clinton was a pierogi fan) chose to make a “food stop” while in town on his way to the Cleveland Clinic.  How ironic that the president chose Slyman’s as his restaurant of choice.  Slyman’s is known for it’s over-stuffed corned beef sandwiches and over-stuffed dining area where over-stuffed patrons are shoe-horned in to consume huge quantities of cholesterol-laden luncheon fare.  The irony is that a steady diet of Slyman’s sandwiches is a certain prescription for ending up at the Clinic for some serious heart work.  I wonder if Clinic head Toby Cosgrove gave the president an earful about his unhealthy eating choices (I mean if McDonald’s is too unhealthy for the Clinic’s food court,  where would Slyman’s rank)?

Upon visiting the Clinic, Mr. Bush performed brain surgery - albeit simulated (so now when one of the president’s detractors says, “he isn’t a rocket scientist” his supporters have a pat response -“but he is a brain surgeon”).  Following his foray into surgery, Mr. Bush then provided the speech that everyone has already heard…

But here’s the funniest part of this story according to a member of the entourage that joined the president on Air Force One for the trip back to Washington after the visit to Cleveland - the smell on the flight home.  Apparently nobody told the president’s advance team that beyond a full belly, the other reminder of a trip to Slyman’s is how you smell.  The result of the cramped restaurant and it’s never ending supply of hot corned beef is that the smell of that finely cured meat permeates everything you’re wearing as well as the pores of your skin.  The president and crew spent almost an hour at Slyman’s and any Clevelander can tell you that the smell stays with you until your next shower.  Add to that the high heat we’ve been experiencing and Air Force One was one smelly place to be yesterday afternoon.

I wonder if the folks traveling with the president found it to be a relief that for the first time in a while the smell enveloping Air Force One had nothing to do with lousy policies for Iraq or immigration?