Fried steak and politics.

John Kerry is still pissed at Tom Harkin for endorsing Dean:

Senator Tom Harkin [is] holding his 27th annual Steak Fry this afternoon in Indianola, Iowa. Even though it's a tradition for Democratic presidential contenders to appear, and even though Iowa is a critical battleground state, Mr. Kerry is not scheduled to be there.

The official explanation is "Unfortunately, we just had other commitments." The New York Times reporter quips that maybe he's "just not in the mood for steak." Or maybe he's turning up his nose at steak crudely fried a la Middle America, as is Rick Lyman, the New York Times reporter who's trying to cover Dick Cheney and getting the cold shoulder:

In a little over two weeks since the end of the Republican convention, I have taken 16 flights totaling 10,496 miles and driven more than 1,000 additional miles to and from distant events. I have changed hotels and rental cars almost every day. I ate burritos in New Mexico, barbecue in Memphis and a steak the size of a hubcap in Minneapolis. My expense account will be a splendid thing. ...

The first post-convention campaign event was a rally in Pendleton, Ore. I left the last day of the convention, missing the president's acceptance speech, flew to Portland (2,440 frequent-flier miles, thank you very much), and then drove more than three hours along the Columbia River Gorge, arriving in rural Pendleton just in time for a chicken-fried steak dinner at the Rainbow Cafe, where the female bartender flirted with a shy, stuttering truck driver. At the Pendleton rally, the stage was decorated with pioneer wagons stuffed with hay. ...

Hay! Hay, no less! Damned politics! Forcing a man of lofty position away from the dear, safe comforts of the East Coast!