# Out of touch politicians **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 23, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642 "2020-10-23T00:08:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/21 "2020-10-23T16:32:51Z")
I seem to remember the 2nd Bush ( “W” ) had a completely tone deaf and glib reply to a single mother asking a question to him in a town hall type thing. When she mentioned she worked 3 jobs just to get by, his reply, replete with his trademark smirk, was “_You work three jobs? Uniquely American isn’t it? I mean, that is fantastic that you’re doing that._” ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/22 "2020-10-23T16:36:34Z")
Does _Barbara_ Bush count ? I still remember this one. Stay patrician, Babs: > **[Did Barbara Bush Say Living in the Astrodome Was 'Working Very Well' for...](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/barbara-bush-astrodome-quote/)** > > Did Barbara Bush say the refugees being housed in the Astrodome were 'underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them'? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/23 "2020-10-23T17:06:10Z")
Sports teams won’t work for New York State, again because of the upstate/downstate divide. Downstate roots for Yankees/Mets, Giants/Jets, Rangers/Islanders, while upstate roots for the Red Sox, Bills, and Sabres. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/24 "2020-10-23T17:19:17Z")
I’m afraid I may have started the hijack about sports teams and local rivalries. That wasn’t the OP’s point. AIUA, his point was things that the entire county, state, or even country would all know and mostly agree on, but yet the pol was so out of touch with us ordinary schlubs that he/she doesn’t know it. Also, I almost made a _faux pax_ here a moment ago with a partisan political comment. Then, ref @Colibri’s well-aimed whack upside my head last time, I took a look at the thread’s category. This is IMHO and partisanship is not on the menu here. Maybe with this comment I can save somebody else from the same mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/25 "2020-10-23T17:25:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > @Colibri’s well-aimed whack upside my head Actually, it was more like gentle chiding.😉 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/26 "2020-10-23T17:31:49Z")
I agree completely it was delivered diplomatically with no anger. But it was still a formal Warning. Which I took with the appropriate degree of seriousness. All good. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/27 "2020-10-23T17:44:19Z")
I can’t find any official warning issued by me. You do have a warning by another mod, but it wasn’t me. Perhaps I issued you a note at some point. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/28 "2020-10-23T17:48:51Z")
In Minnesota, it might be being brave enough to eat lutefisk. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/29 "2020-10-23T17:50:26Z")
Crap, now I _really_ stepped in it. It was **Chronos** who whacked me a couple weeks ago. The whole point of mentioning who did it was the happenstance that you’d just posted above me. I know some folks get you two confused. But at my point in this game I sure oughta know better. Color me :embarrassed:. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/30 "2020-10-23T18:01:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > One of my waggish whitebread pals learned enough to answer “Vashon. You?” He said the responses were priceless. Should’ve then invited them to a game of one-on-one. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/31 "2020-10-23T18:06:18Z")
Perhaps “Vashon” means something to you. It doesn’t for me, so whatever the joke is, is lost to me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/32 "2020-10-23T18:08:42Z")
I introduced it as a joke meaningful only to current or former St. Louis residents. Following up on @Jas09’s equally locals-only comment. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/33 "2020-10-23T18:08:59Z")
[its students have won several state championships:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vashon_High_School)[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vashon_High_School#cite_note-stlpd03122001-8)[[17]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vashon_High_School#cite_note-mshsaachamps2-17) - Boys basketball: 1935, 1936, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1971, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2004, 2016, 2017[[18]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vashon_High_School#cite_note-bballnote-18)[[19]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vashon_High_School#cite_note-bballnote2-19) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/34 "2020-10-23T18:09:24Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I know some folks get you two confused. But at my point in this game I sure oughta know better. Color me :embarrassed:. It’s easy to tell us apart. I’m much better looking than **Chronos**.😉 ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/35 "2020-10-23T18:38:13Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > For Alabama there is only one question: U of Alabama or Auburn? All else is secondary. Which has, of course, complicated the Senate race this year. As the Republican nominee is Tommy Tuberville, former coach of the Auburn Tigers. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/36 "2020-10-23T18:51:42Z")
And to totally belabor the joke, Vashon was initially founded as a High School for black students. It is still almost entirely minority (99%). It would be very surprising to find a white alumnus. For some reason, in St. Louis, one of the most common introductory questions people ask each other is “what high school did you go to?”. It seems to be relatively unique to St. Louis. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/37 "2020-10-23T19:10:27Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > For some reason, in St. Louis, one of the most common introductory questions people ask each other is “what high school did you go to?”. It seems to be relatively unique to St. Louis. Nope, not unique at all. In the Iowa city of my youth, that was usually one of the first few questions. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/38 "2020-10-23T19:14:51Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > In the Iowa city of my youth, that was usually one of the first few questions. Much the same for my home city of Green Bay, though it’s much smaller than St. Louis, I suspect that that’s why it’s a noteworthy introductory question for a larger city like St. Louis – it’s probably more common for smaller cities, where there are only a few high schools, and where more of the people may be lifelong residents. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/39 "2020-10-23T19:20:45Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > For Alabama there is only one question: U of Alabama or Auburn? All else is secondary. For cold-blooded cynical politicians, seems like the sensible answer would just be to pick the majority team. Aren’t there considerably more Bama fans in Alabama than Aubies? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642/40 "2020-10-23T23:05:55Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Wasn’t George Bush (Sr.) portrayed as out of touch for acting amazed at how a barcode scanner could scan things (despite the fact he was actually being shown a scanner that could scan _obscured_ bar codes?) Yeah, he was wrongly showed as being ignorant of typical scanner technology. “Then the details of the story started to dribble out. Andrew Rosenthal of _The New York Times_ hadn’t even been present at the grocers’ convention. He based his article on a two-paragraph report filed by the lone pool newspaperman allowed to cover the event, Gregg McDonald of the _Houston Chronicle_ , who merely wrote that Bush had a “look of wonder” on his face and didn’t find the event significant enough to mention in his own story. Moreover, Bush had good reason to express wonder: He wasn’t being shown then-standard scanner technology, but a new type of scanner that could weigh groceries and read mangled and torn bar codes.” > **[Was President George H.W. Bush 'Amazed' by a Grocery Scanner?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bush-scanner-demonstration/)** > > What it all came down to was that President Bush became the scapegoat for an economic recession. Apparently his not knowing the price of milk was true, although like others here I could be stumped on that too (produce and cheap wine are another story) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-touch-politicians/923642.md?page=3)