BEER POLITICS

Vote for Barack Obama. You might get a beer.

The president of the United States stopped at a fire and rescue station in Norfolk, Va., on Tuesday as his convention began in Charlotte, N.C. Obama presented White House-brewed beer to the battalion chief and four firefighters.

"I want you to test it out," he said. "It's a whole case. I am going to call you up and see if we have the right recipe."

Though the beer didn't have a label, the White House says it was a mix of bottles of honey ale, regular ale and dark ale. The Obama White House has been dabbling in homebrews of late, and it released a recipe over the weekend.

One of the firefighters at Norfolk Fire Rescue Station 14, presumably on duty, asked Obama: "Should we wait until tomorrow to drink it?"

"I don't want to get you into trouble with the chief," the president responded

AP White House Correspondent Ben Feller put it this way Saturday: "As a political symbol, beer is not just about beer. It is about the likable, accessible, regular guy who relates to life in the real world and enjoys popping a cold one. Sure, taste counts, but so do votes."

? Matthew Daly ? Twitter http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC

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EDITOR'S NOTE - Convention Watch shows you the 2012 political conventions through the eyes of Associated Press journalists. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/beer-politics-185149889--election.html

shannon de lima joe torre west virginia university michele bachmann jessica biel tim howard west virginia