Populist Rage Fades With Hardee's 'French Dip'

Ergo, you won't be hearing about 'death panels,' say, 10 minutes from now
By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 5, 2009 3:54 PM CDT
Populist Rage Fades With Hardee's 'French Dip'
Hardee's French Dip Thickburger with au jus.   (AP Photo)

How soon America—“a toadying zombie mob with a terrible memory”—forgets, Abe Sauer writes on the Awl. Take the new offering from Hardee’s, “one of the nation’s largest, most popular purveys of food-like substances": the French Dip Thickburger. “What do maids, toast, kisses and burgers all have in common? They’re all better when they’re French,” goes the ad copy. Does anyone remember the anti-French sentiment of 2003?

Back then, critics vilified John Kerry for “looking French” and renamed French fries "Freedom fries" after France opposed the Iraq war. Now, Americans apparently prefer a "French dip" to other gustatory options. What's scary is how quickly people have forgotten. And how rabidly the old purveyors of anti-French rage—like Bill O'Reilly and Tom DeLay—are the same Einsteins "fanning the white-hot LCD-flames" against health care reform.
(More Hardee's stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X