Rudy Pulls a George Bush Sr. Moment on Price of Bread, Milk

It's no wonder that a guy who makes millions on shady law firm consultations and high-flying speaking engagements is a little out of touch with the common man. Asked by a reporter in Alabama about the prices of a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread, Rudy Giuliani answered:

"A gallon of milk is probably about a $1.50, a loaf of bread about a $1.25, $1.30."

Reality?

A check of the Web site for D'Agostino supermarket on Manhattan's Upper East Side showed a gallon of milk priced at $4.19 and a loaf of white bread at $2.99 to $3.39. In Montgomery, Ala., a gallon of milk goes for about $3.39 and bread is about $2.

Two observations: (1) This is a classic "gotcha!" question that reporters love, and every presidential candidate should be given a commodities rundown with their morning briefing ("Mrs. Clinton, bags of potatoes are down 30 cents, closing yesterday at $3.49."). You have to believe Mitt Romney's and John Edwards' people are scrambling to get this sort of information to their candidates this very second, because reporters are probably salivating about the idea of catching a second candidate looking silly today.

And (2) I'm not sure I would know the exact price of those things. In my mind, living in New York, the answer is "Too much." I remember seeing a gallon of orange juice at almost $10, and I stopped caring completely. "Just take all my money," I say to the checkout counter lady. "I don't care how much anything costs anymore. You win."

Of course, this all recalls a classic George Bush Sr. moment:

His difficulty with grocery items recalled another Republican's supermarket run-in. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush expressed amazement at a high-tech supermarket scanner, prompting critics to argue that he was out of touch with average Americans. The White House cried foul, pointing out that during a grocers' convention Bush had been impressed by a special scanner that could read torn labels.

Via Kos.

Comments

Rudy's the least bad of the current herd of republican candidates. I wonder if we should hold back until he gets the nod. Of course, as a liberal, a party Rudy was once a member of, I still don't like Rudy. I think that since he got slapped down HARD by the rethuglikkkans for endorsing Cuomo over Pataki, he has toed the line perfectly and will likely continue to do so.

All of that said though, I don't care of politicians know the cost of milk. If they're doing their own shopping, they're not spending enough time at their jobs, which are definitively NOT 9-5.

Posted by: Misanthropic Scott on 04/11/07 at 9:40 AM Respond

If I understand it correctly, official measurements of inflation don't include the costs of food or housing. Is it any wonder, then, that politicians are out of touch with the economic conditions of ordinary people? Or that our national leaders think the economy is in great shape? Yes, Mr. Giuliani, it costs twice as much for bread and milk as you estimated. Now that you know that, what's your position on increasing the minimum wage? Or on outsourcing more jobs to India, Pakistan, etc., thus increasing the downward pressure on the wages of American workers? If our legislators at every level were looking at economic reality, they'd be as aware--and concerned--about the price of a gallon of milk as they are about the price of a gallon of gas.

Posted by: Kathleen A. Kelly on 04/11/07 at 12:02 PM Respond

This is total BS. How many "bread winners" in a family know this? I shop for my family and I have no idea what a loaf of bread costs. Why - we don't eat bread!

Posted by: Jim on 04/11/07 at 12:27 PM Respond

Kathleen A. Kelly,

Most people are actually more out of touch with the cost (the true cost) of a gallon of gasoline. Check this report for the real numbers. You may be shocked. I know I was.

http://www.icta.org/doc/Real%20Price%20of%20Gasoline.pdf

Posted by: Misanthropic Scott on 04/12/07 at 7:11 AM Respond

I will be closely watching in the coming months to see if this type of thing is repeated. It seem to be sort of a myopia, the brain goes only so far and anything else just isn't there. Bush has this problem in spades (poppy has it too).

Posted by: balzar on 04/12/07 at 10:49 AM Respond