The presidential menu

Via Althouse come details of the meal GWB and Harriet Miers were eating when he offered her a seat on the SCOTUS: shrimp, polenta, and chocolate mousse. My reactions:

1. Phrasing it that way makes it sound like they ate all three of those things together. Yuck. If I were serving those dishes for dinner, I would phrase it thus: shrimp and polenta, with chocolate mousse for dessert. I never like to leave a nit unpicked. Which reminds me of our friend--who for his sake I will not name--who liked to eat in Chinese buffets. One time I saw him eat breaded fried chicken and soft-serve ice cream mixed together in a bowl. Also yuck. But I'm not a snob, and you should eat whatever pleases you.

2. Chocolate mousse is so passé. Trendy restaurants never serve it any more but second-rate catering joints do. I love chocolate mousse, though, and now I must have some. It's not all that hard to make. I will use dark chocolate and make it not too sweet. And I will try not to think too much about GWB while eating it.

3. Imagine if O'Connor and Rehnquist had left the court during Bush's first term. Wouldn't Bush have felt compelled to nominate candidates who would have better pleased his base, to rally them in support of his re-election? Does this one-two combination reveal that Bush isn't as conservative as his supporters might believe? Yes, politics! I follow politics!