Althouse: "George... the difference between the Senate and the House is the difference between chicken salad and chicken shit."

November 16, 2014

"George... the difference between the Senate and the House is the difference between chicken salad and chicken shit."

What LBJ said when George H.W. Bush, a member of the House of Representatives, asked whether he should run for the Senate seat in 1970.

According to George W. Bush in "41: A Portrait of My Father."

37 comments:

Anonymous said...: GHWB was my president. I think he is better than Clinton or Reagan. Too bad that he is not getting due. Hopefully, this book will.

But, this book will not change the future.

What do I mean? The American Voters, including me, are stupid. We really do not know what is good for us.

This is why: The next POTUS is Hillary.

There is no other alternative.

The GOP has to focus on women and minorities; learn to love science; embrace climate change.

Why is GOP so not forward-looking is beyond me?

If they move forward, then today they got Senate, House, and tomorrow it will be WH.

Just focus on three things: support women and minorities, including legal immigrant, issues; learn to love science; embrace climate change.

This will prevent Hillary from being POTUS 45.

It is that simple.

Find a new GHWB (man or woman).

Problem solved.; 11/16/14, 7:15 AM
The Drill SGT said...: LBJ had a gift with words didn't he :); 11/16/14, 7:24 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: I bet the chicken has a different take on the preferability of these two options.; 11/16/14, 7:31 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: See: in one option he is just having his excrement taken, no harm done, and in the other he has to die. As such, the chicken probably prefers people taking the 'chicken shit' option. I thought I would explain that so the previous post was made clear.; 11/16/14, 7:33 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: I would suspect most species would prefer someone just take their excrement rather than dying. It probably is not just chickens. Myself, if someone wants my excrement, take it: I want to live.; 11/16/14, 7:35 AM
The Drill SGT said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/16/14, 7:36 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: I don't even care what they do with the excrement. Maybe they turn it into a fuel, maybe they are making some post-modern sculpture about the State of Modern Humanity, maybe they just have a thing for excrement. In the above scenario it doesn't matter to me: I do not expect, nor want, it back.; 11/16/14, 7:38 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I think LBJ was a bully who had among his power moves the invocation of shit. It was disarming, depending on the context.; 11/16/14, 8:08 AM
The Drill SGT said...: Liberals like to edit history. I went to 4 quote sites and only one carried this important, but almost forgotten LBJ quote:

"We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10 thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves."

One piece of advice for BHO from LBJ:

“There is but one way for a president to deal with Congress, and that is continuously, incessantly, and without interruption. If it is really going to work, the relationship has got to be almost incestuous.”; 11/16/14, 8:14 AM
paminwi said...: Drill SGT: BHO is supposed yo be waaaaay smarter than LBJ, don't you know?; 11/16/14, 8:20 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: "I think LBJ was a bully who had among his power moves the invocation of shit. It was disarming, depending on the context."

Maybe not just 'disarming' but rather 'disemboweling'.; 11/16/14, 8:30 AM
traditionalguy said...: LBJ obviously referred to the price you can sell your vote for.; 11/16/14, 8:33 AM
traditionalguy said...: The true test of power in a room is who can use shit in a sentence and get away with it.; 11/16/14, 8:35 AM
Danno said...: My two cents worth says that being a Senator under Harry Reid doesn't offer any meaningful contribution to anything, as Reid has squelched pretty much everything, not even allowing amendments to must-pass legislation. It is no longer the "World's Greatest Deliberative Body" by any stretch. So it has become dogshit, not chicken salad!

Maybe Mitch McConnell can change that.; 11/16/14, 8:51 AM
Anonymous said...: I think LBJ was a bully who had among his power moves the invocation of shit. It was disarming, depending on the context

You think THAT'S disarming? Imagine having him start waving his horse cock around during a meeting, which was a regular occurrence for him.

Are there ANY Democrats who could keep their dick in their pants?; 11/16/14, 9:19 AM
Original Mike said...: LBJ never met Harry Reid.; 11/16/14, 9:24 AM
Krumhorn said...: I'm thinking that Spatula has not only met Betamax personally, but he must know Betamax very well.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

- Krumhorn; 11/16/14, 9:27 AM
Michael K said...: Those were the days when Democrats had the Congress under control. Who cared what anyone thought ?; 11/16/14, 9:43 AM
William said...: It wasn't just the invocation of shit. He used to take an actual dump in the presence of subordinates. Now that's a power move. Clinton used to get blow jobs while talking to foreign leaders. Those leaders didn't know he was getting a bj, but he knew so it was kind of a power move. JFK had one of his girls give one of his subordinates a bj. That's a power move, but the squalor of the move trumps the power it expresses. When it comes to sordid power moves, LBJ was king.; 11/16/14, 9:44 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: "I'm thinking that Spatula has not only met Betamax personally, but he must know Betamax very well. "

Perhaps I'll tell the story in a cafe.; 11/16/14, 9:45 AM
The Drill SGT said...: William said...
When it comes to sordid power moves, LBJ was king.

When it came to "power moves" in general, LBJ was king...

He counted votes better
Jawboned better
understood the process better
twisted arms like a master
stole elections better
knew people better
understood how to cut deals

He was better at his job that those other amateurs

That didn't make him, nice or good, but he was King.; 11/16/14, 9:52 AM
MadisonMan said...: Both chicken salad and chickenshit can be very useful, depending on circumstances.; 11/16/14, 10:16 AM
Anonymous said...: Chicken shit + charcoal + sulfur = gunpowder; 11/16/14, 10:21 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Subordinate: "Should I coordinate the meeting with the Congressman at 1:30, sir?

LBJ: "Better make it 2:30, son. That's when I take my second shit of the day: it's the Big One."

Subordinate: "Will do, sir."

LBJ: "Son, what is on the lunch menu today?"

Subordinate: "I believe it is Caesar Salad, sir..."

LBJ: "Fuck that shit. Tell the chefs to make it chili, extra hot and spicy: I've got a point I want to get across in this meeting."

Subordinate: "Indeed, sir."

LBJ: Do you understand the point I will be making, son?

Subordinate: Uh... I think so, sir."

LBJ: "I don't want them to just know I am taking a shit, I want them to HEAR it, I want them to SMELL it, I want my bowels to be chock full of thunder and lightning. If there ain't no shit there ain't no rodeo."

Subordinate: "That is very wise, sir."

LBJ: "You know the best part, son?"

Subordinate: "What is that, sir?"

LBJ: "I make a point to shake their hands straight out of the crapper, before I wash my hands."

Subordinate: "That will certainly put them in their place, sir."

LBJ: "I also ask them to flush the toilet before meeting me in my office. If the toilet backs up, that's their problem."

Subordinate: "Understood, sir."

LBJ: "Indeed -- before the meeting I want you to flush all kinds of toilet paper in the crapper -- I want it good and stuck up like a constipated pig. A big constipated pig."

Subordinate: "Will do, sir."

LBJ: "Speaking of pigs, make sure the chefs throw some bacon in that chili -- it's always good for a few more splashes."

"Subordinate: "Bacon with the Chili, sir -- got it."

LBJ: "And son?"

Subordinate: "Yes sir?"

LBJ: "My beagle took a shit on the white carpet."

Subordinate: "I'll get that cleaned up, sir."

LBJ: "Fuck that, son: I want you to put the Congressman's chair right over it."

Subordinate: "That is a nice twist, sir."

LBJ: "Thanks, son. I'd like to take credit for that one, but it was Lady Bird's idea."

Subordinate: "She's a smart woman, sir."

LBJ: "The best, son, the best. And the best part?"

Subordinate: "Yes, sir?"

LBJ: She shits real small and quiet, like a mouse; don't tell her I said that."

Subordinate. "My lips are sealed, sir."; 11/16/14, 10:23 AM
David said...: Great marketing, Althouse. I bought the book through your portal.; 11/16/14, 11:29 AM
Chance said...: Being a bully gets a bad rap. When you absolutely have to get shit done, accept no substitute...; 11/16/14, 11:31 AM
Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...: LBJ was a dishonest power mongering politician, but I repeat myself.; 11/16/14, 12:22 PM
David said...: The Drill SGT said...
. . . . this important, but almost forgotten LBJ quote:

"We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10 thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves."

"I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again: Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars."--FDR, October 30 1940.

Etc, etc, etc.; 11/16/14, 12:26 PM
cubanbob said...: Ann Althouse said...
I think LBJ was a bully who had among his power moves the invocation of shit. It was disarming, depending on the context.

11/16/14, 8:08 AM"

Knowing what you know about LBJ if you could go back in time and cast a vote in the 1964 election would you cast your vote for LBJ?; 11/16/14, 12:46 PM
The Drill SGT said...: Chance said...
Being a bully gets a bad rap. When you absolutely have to get shit done, accept no substitute...

exhibit 1: Patton
exhibit 2: Ridgeway
exhibit 3: MacArthur
exhibit 4: Arnold
exhibit 5; Manstein
exhibit 7: Rommel
exhibit 8: Zhukov
exhibit 9: Halsey
exhibit 10: Stllwell

I could go on.; 11/16/14, 1:27 PM
Greg Hlatky said...: "When things get tough, they send for the sons-of-bitches." - Adm. Ernest J. King; 11/16/14, 2:04 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Thanks for using the portal, David.; 11/16/14, 2:13 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Knowing what you know about LBJ if you could go back in time and cast a vote in the 1964 election would you cast your vote for LBJ?"

I was there in 1964. I was 13, and I had a strong opinion: for Goldwater. If I could go back, sure. Of course, I want Goldwater. LBJ was terrible. There was never a point in time when I liked him. I didn't like JFK either.; 11/16/14, 2:14 PM
rcocean said...: LBJ got elected because he lied about who he really was. He posed as the mainstream, slightly left of center, compassionate but fiscally responsible, moderate on social issues, firm but peace loving moderate.

Then he got us into a no-win war, spent money like a drunken sailor, and went hard-left on social issues. All the while behaving like a complete egomaniac.; 11/16/14, 2:51 PM
rcocean said...: My mother hated him because he showed his scars on TV and picked up his dog by his ears.

No class.; 11/16/14, 2:52 PM
bbkingfish said...: I was not sympathetic to his politics, but Bush was one of the most capable of the post-WWII presidents, I think. Certainly he, along with JFK I guess, was groomed consciously by purposeful parents to be capable of the position.; 11/16/14, 3:02 PM
The Godfather said...: In 1964, I thought one of the tragedies of the Goldwater nomination was George Bush's defeat for the Senate seat in Texas. I'm from Conn., Prescott Bush was my senator, and I followed his son with great hopes. I thought Bush and a lot of other promising young Republican careers were finished last year. I was wrong.

In 1980, Bush was my second choice for president (Howard Baker was number 1, can you believe it?). I thought Reagan was too old. I was wrong.

In 1988, I had great hopes for Bush as Reagan's successor. I thought his great administrative and personal skills would take him a long way, and that after 8 years as No. 2 to the greatest political leader of our generation, he would have learned what he needed to complete the package. I was wrong.

Wonderful man, Bush, but a disappointment as a political leader. I think there's something fundamentally flawed in moderate Republicans. Not personally, but politically.; 11/16/14, 4:32 PM