Pubdate: Tue, 11 Nov 2003
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2003 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Mike Allen

AT A KEG FACTORY, BUSH TAPS OLD TIMES

GREER, S.C., Nov. 10 -- President Bush was holding one of his Oprah-style 
roundtables with regular, red-blooded workers to talk about jobs, when 
Stephen Thies of Spartanburg Stainless Products showed he's a man who knows 
his audience.

Thies, president of the company from nearby Spartanburg, delivered his 
scripted pablum about metal stampings and assemblies, then blurted out: "We 
also make beer kegs -- we're the only American beer keg manufacturer in 
North America."

This drew applause from the audience, which was stocked with stout 
employees who turn stacks of chassis, rear quarter panels and assorted 
other parts into BMWs.

And it sure got the attention of the president.

"I quit drinking in '86," said Bush, who now indulges only in an occasional 
Buckler non-alcoholic brew. "But I bet some of the people out here use the 
product." He paused for the laughter. "I'm not going to point out which ones."

The workers had been gathered at a BMW Manufacturing Corp. assembly line 
Monday afternoon under Hollywood-style lighting for a White House 
"conversation on the economy with employers and employees." In case anyone 
might miss the point, Bush's aides had hung a huge sign that read 
"Strengthening America's Economy" where the cameras couldn't miss it.

Thies had his own sense of comic timing. He just let 'em chuckle. Then he 
said, "Well, we did notice a dip in demand at a point in time." As the 
hoots died down, he added, "Probably no relationship."

"Pretty observant fellow, aren't you?" the president parried.

After that, they went back to tax relief, the child credit and capital 
investment.

Bush, whose hard partying these days is confined to state-dinner toasts 
with a water glass, rarely discusses his wild years anymore. He invoked 
them in September in Houston, as he lauded faith-based programs to help 
people kick alcohol and drugs. "I know firsthand what it takes to quit 
drinking, and it takes something other than a textbook or a manual," he 
said. "If you change a person's heart, you can change their life."

In Dallas last month, at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Youth Education Center, 
Bush thrust a finger at the audience as he said: "See, if you change their 
heart, then they change their behavior. I know!"
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart