# Who would you have dinner with? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 8, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087 "2008-10-08T22:56:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/1 "2008-10-08T22:56:54Z")
In the latest Katie Couric “sound bite and a half” dueling interviews (both candidate gets the same question and can actually use more than 25 words to answer it), she asked “Which three people, currently alive – other than myself – would you like to have dinner with?” Obama’s answer: 1. Nelson Mandela 2. Warren Buffett (“he’s like your favorite uncle, only worth 40 million and really smart”) 3. His grandmother, who he’s only seen once in the last 19 months (too fragile to travel) McCain’s answer: 1. David Petreus 2. Meg Whitman of eBay 3. An athlete. Any athlete. Maybe Michael Phelps. Or that gold-medal wrestler, whose name he’s not entirely sure of – Henry Suhado? Or the 400-meter relay team, to tell them we still love them. Who are your three? My list starts with Jon Stewart – I’m really not sure who my other two are. Gimme some ideas. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/2 "2008-10-08T22:58:58Z")
Jon Stewart Mike Rowe Barack Obama For the record, you were my 2nd choice, **twicks** , but I’ve already dined with you! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/3 "2008-10-08T23:03:28Z")
John Stewart, Sylvia Plath, Princess Diana. Henry Rollins, Bill Maher, Barack Obama. Phil Hawkins (H.S. Teacher,) Mark Twain, Truman Capote. ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/4 "2008-10-08T23:05:38Z")
1. Robert Duvall. 2. George Bush Senior. 3. Mel Brooks. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/5 "2008-10-08T23:08:02Z")
1. Valerie Martin, author of A Recent Martyr, because she’s so freaking brilliant. 2. Kristin Bell, because she is on both my wife’s and my own list of people we’re allowed to have sex with without it being cheating, and because Kim claims to have a plan that would make that happen. (I’m assuming Kim’s along, of course. 3. T. Boone Pickens. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/6 "2008-10-08T23:10:31Z")
I think dinner with Stephen Colbert\*, Barack Obama and John McCain all together would be an interesting night. Especially somewhere private where they could feel free to be nice to each other, or throw a punch, whichever they felt was appropriate. \*Colbert would be interesting, methinks, in his own right, but at this dinner he’d be the straw that stirs the drink, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/7 "2008-10-08T23:33:39Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > John Stewart, Sylvia Plath, Princess Diana. > > Henry Rollins, Bill Maher, Barack Obama. > > Phil Hawkins (H.S. Teacher,) Mark Twain, Truman Capote. \*Currently alive. \* Would you like to try again? ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/8 "2008-10-08T23:53:00Z")
Any two people who are really in need of a meal. Not speaking their language would be a bonus. And because I’m selfish, Jeff Beck. ---
**Author:** ![Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frustrated_Wonderer)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/9 "2008-10-08T23:54:46Z")
1. Roger Waters 2. Billy Joel 3. Michael Shermer ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/10 "2008-10-08T23:57:39Z")
> [@Omegaman](#): > > Any two people who are really in need of a meal. Not speaking their language would be a bonus. > > And because I’m selfish, Jeff Beck. Any 3 people who needed a meal, in my case. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/11 "2008-10-09T00:46:34Z")
1. Jon Stewart 2. The Dalai Lama 3. Arnold Schwarzenegger ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/12 "2008-10-09T00:51:44Z")
I get this question from time to time. My answer is always **Julia Child**. Great food and marvelous conversation! Although not recently, I suppose… ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/13 "2008-10-09T01:17:08Z")
I hate these kinds of questions. It would take me weeks of thinking about it to decide on the three living people I most want to have dinner with, and that’s without even factoring in second-guessing myself so people don’t have some insight into my character that I don’t want them to have. So let’s just say Bratt Pitt, Hugh Jackman, and Jeremy Northam, and we’ll see where the evening takes us. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/14 "2008-10-09T01:22:53Z")
1. Bill Clinton 2. [Bishop John Shelby Spong](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong) 3. Pope Benedict XVI ---
**Author:** ![fervour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@fervour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fervour)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/15 "2008-10-09T01:34:59Z")
Wishful thinking list\*\*: 1. David Sedaris 2. Emily Saliers 3. Jon Stewart Real list: 1. My partner (we’re maintaining two places while moving and I haven’t seen him in 10 days). 2. My friend Jessica. (It’s been a while. I’ll probably lunch with her Friday). 3. My sister. (She’s in England. I haven’t seen her for months.) \*\*I diagnose myself as having mild social anxiety disorder. I would find it stressful to actually meet the people on my wishful list—unless I could be a fly on the wall or something. But then again I’m not too keen on being swatted. I better stick with my real list. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/16 "2008-10-09T01:50:06Z")
[ol] [li]Alice Cooper[/li][li]Hilary Clinton[/li][li]Jack Ketchum[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/17 "2008-10-09T02:01:34Z")
1. Matt Groening 2. Stephen Hawking 3. Barack Obama ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/18 "2008-10-09T02:05:45Z")
Stephen King. Johnny Depp. Anthony Rapp. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/19 "2008-10-09T02:09:53Z")
Chris Rock Bill Maher Richard Dawkins ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087/20 "2008-10-09T02:51:50Z")
1. Barack Obama 2-3. Two libertarian economists. If Obama’s gonna be our next president, he needs to be set straight on a few economic issues. It could save us a whole lot of grief. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-have-dinner-with/467087.md?page=2)