lunch

earlier...

As I'm sure you all know, Speaker Boehner and I just returned from the White House a short while ago, where we met with the president for lunch and discussed the need to cut spending, so I wanted to meet with the rest of the caucus to give you an update on our talks. It was a good meeting, wasn't it Boss?

Quite constructive, Eric, particularly Joe Biden's Nancy Pelosi anecdote. That really broke the ice... A very nice lunch indeed.

I agree. Not to be all Kumbaya, but I think it emphasized the need for us all to work together.

And there's a certain logic to the idea that you begin that process by all eating together.

Yes, breaking bread... But we must not let the will of our mission to be broken, because we've got two huge financial bills that we need...

You know, I like lunch a hell of a lot more than I like dinner. A hell of a lot more. That's the funny thing about presidents, they'll invite you to dinner but they never invite you to lunch.

And this was a very productive lunch, Boss. One which gave us a opportunity to clearly state...

They call me up for these state dinners and I'm like 'no way, Jack'. Way I see it, once I get off the House floor, the rest of the day is mine. I'm not going to spend all night at some stuffy formal dinner, but call me for lunch and I'll be there with bells on. I'll bet the president didn't know that about me.

No, he probably didn't...

Bush had me over for lunch a couple of times, but the man ate like a peasant. Always with the damn cheeseburgers.

I... guess this must have been a very satisfying day for you, then... Now as I was...

Very satisfying. But Eric, straight up, you should have seen your face when they brought out that stuffed chicken.

It was enormous. I had a chicken breast that was as big as my plate.

I thought, there is no way I'm not going to be able to eat all that, but the crab and shrimp stuffing was so light that I polished it off with no problem. Even had room left for desert.

More like two deserts, John... As I informed the president, the budget cuts we intend to pass now are only the beginning. As we consider the 2012 budget, I foresee...

Our budget is bloated, just like me. You're right, I never should have had two deserts, but the butterscotch mousse was so good. Anyway, very productive lunch... Sorry for interrupting...

I also informed President Obama that we had every intention of defunding his...

You know, the thing I liked best was the fact that you didn't need to flag down the server to get another drink. As soon as you were near the bottom, he was right there with another.

Oh lord, it's going to be a long couple years...