Bush and the asparagus caper

It began last week in Germany, when a visiting President Bush thanked host Chancellor Angela Merkel for a marvelous dinner of schnitzel, asparagus and fresh strawberries.

"Laura and I loved our dinner last night," Bush said at a joint press conference the two leaders held the next morning. "For those in the German press who thought I didn't like asparagus, you're wrong. The German asparagus are fabulous."

This comment caught the attention of Washington state's Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, below, whose father grew up picking asparagus in the tri-cities area. "The president was probably just being polite when he complimented German asparagus, but just to make sure, I wanted him to have some truly great asparagus from Washington state."

So Tuesday, Murray and Washington's Republican Rep. Doc Hastings sent 10 pounds of asparagus from Gourmet Trading in Pasco, Wash., to the White House, along with a link to recipes from the Washington Asparagus Commission.

"Mr. President, if you liked the German variety, we guarantee that you will love Washington state asparagus," the two said in a letter to the White House.

No word yet from the White House on how they plan to use the gift. At least it wasn't broccoli -- the president's father was well-known for his antipathy to that vegetable.

-- Johanna Neuman and Maura Reynolds

Photo: Bush, Eric Draper/White House; Murray, Jeff T. Green/Associated Press

Comments

[Crispin Peter Fordham]

As a German Citizen, I would be interested to know if the Asparagus from Washington State is Green or White?

After having lived from 1996 til 2004 in the USA I was very happy to have the wonderful taste of our White Asparagus again, it really is Great, why isn't the choice available in the USA, we were only able to get Green in the USA?

[Buckley]

Shouldn't it be "German asparagus IS great?" Or does he think one
spear is an Asparagu?

[California Asparagus Eater]

The German asparagus would probably be green this time of year, even though white asparagus is highly regarded in Germany. White is available in early spring.

I am delighted to see that the Senator is promoting domestic asparagus. The California supply is dwindling due to competition from less expensive imported supplies. Young spears are thick, not thin like the imported ones. I would hate to see this wonderful domestic resource disappear.

As for the grammar, asparagus, like certain other words in English (sheep, for example), is the same singular and plural. This time, President Bush got it right.

[arum]

Thanks for the comment, Crispin, because I was confused by the point of the blog entry myself.

After having lived there, I can state that the asparagus in Washington is green and I have never, even in the markets in Los Angeles, seen asparagus comparable to the German variety. It appears that Senator Murray doesn't realize that there is a vast difference in size, color, and flavor between the asparagus that's common here and the spargel in Germany. President Bush wasn't just being polite in his comments but was complimenting his hosts on a truly delicious dish.