Posted on 11/08/2007 12:24:50 PM PST by Nachum
ABC News' Eloise Harper Reports: Rule number one when campaigning at a diner: always leave a good tip -- and, apparently, make sure it gets properly 'disbursed'.
In early October, Sen. Hillary Clinton's 'Middle Class Express' made a pit stop at the Maid Rite diner in Marshalltown, Iowa.
The New York senator, joined by local political luminaries Christie Vilsack and Ruth Harkin, enjoyed a famous loose meat sandwich and attempted to hand caucus cards to the Iowans inside.
Clinton also spoke to one of the diner's waitresses, Anita Esterday. It was her first day on the job and she and Clinton shared a short exchange. Esterday, who has three jobs and works 12 hour shifts, said to Clinton "both of my sons have worked since they were 14 years old"; Clinton told her, "I'm proud of you."
But, according to Esterday, that's where Clinton's gratitude ended as the campaign crew left with nary a gratuity for any of the hard working Maid-Riters.
"I mean, nobody got left a tip that day," Esterday said in an interview with NPR after a visit by Senator Clinton.
UPDATE: The Clinton campaign contacted ABC News to assert that they did, contrary to Esterday's claim to NPR, pay $157 for food at Maid-Rite and left a $100 tip to be split among the staff.
Sensing the story was reaching the tipping point, ABC News' Eloise Harper contacted Brad Crawford, manager of Maid-Rite caught in the political mixer, who said the senator's staff did pay a tip but "it might have not been disbursed properly."
The NPR report claimed the meal was on the house. And even the Emily Post Institute doesn't have anything to say on the etiquette of presidential campaign tipping. (Post does, however, have something so say about the National Anthem -- a sore subject in the Obama camp these days).
"I don't think she understood at all what I was saying," Esterday continued to tell NPR. "Afterwards it was like do you guys live in the real world, maybe they don't carry money, I don't know."
Esterday's assertion may be a bipartisan one: earlier this year, former Governor Mitt Romney, R-Mass., who holds a fortune estimated between $190-$250 million found himself sans wallet and without the means to pay for his vanilla steamer at a campaign stop in DeWitt, Iowa.
But an allegedly tip-less visit wasn't Esterday's only complaint.
"As for all of this attention on me, it hasn't helped my life, its made my life worse," added the Maid-Rite waitress.
Esterday's picture with the Senator also landed in a local newspaper. Her employer at the nursing home is not a Clinton fan and, since the photo appeared, the waitress claims her shifts have been reduced; she suspects the picture in the paper was the reason.
Despite everything, Esterday did take Clinton's pitch to heart: she's still deciding whether to support Clinton or Obama.
How very appropriate and ironic that Bill Clintoon’s wife go to a place serving “loose meat”.
If it were my place, I wouldn't give those leeches a free glass of water - even if they were on fire!
I think Bill Clinton was famous for going in and eating and never paying, tipping, or offering to buy his SS detail anything.
Bush, on the other hand, not only buys, pays the bill and tip, provides beverages for the SS detail, but chides the reporters into buying something too.
it is considered proper to tip based on the amount that the meal actually would have cost, not on what the discounted cost was.
politicians are usually encouraged to tip generously.
the only people ecouraged to tip more generously than politicians, are clergy.
“I watched my poooorrrr meatballlll, it rolled out the door.”
The waitress is on record saying she didn’t get anything. If she changes her tune — then they got to her.
It’s because Bush is a real man.
“Clinton’s tipping point?” Would that be like cow tipping?
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Year ago, FreeRepublic ran something about how liberals don’t tip as well as conservatives. Seems some of them think holding the right views on the “poor” is enough - or it’s that they like the poor in theory, but not in actuality.
Year ago, FreeRepublic ran something about how liberals don’t tip as well as conservatives. Seems some of them think holding the right views on the “poor” is enough - or it’s that they like the poor in theory, but not in actuality.
“After all this, I’m still a horse-whipped idiot,” the waitress said.
clergy??
Also compare libs’ charity donations versus conservatives.
That is if she changes her mind. A tip was not left at the waitress’s station by Hillary but a $100 tip was left. The waitress may have received a portion of the tip (divided between the employees) at the end of the day.
There's a more satisifing way to extinguish a burning liberal.
Esterday. All my troubles seemed so far away.
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