Ear to the ground:

“The brain freeze is the worst; it’s like getting kicked in the balls and the head at the same time.”
–  Cocktail imbiber on the perils of frozen booze

Obama does Denver

In case you haven’t heard, President Obama was in Denver this week, delivering a speech on the economy and stumping for Sen. Mark Udall on Wednesday morning.

But, according to White House Press Pool reports, the real action happened Tuesday night. After landing at D.I.A. Tuesday afternoon, the motorcade headed to the Wazee Supper Club in LoDo, where Obama had pizza and beers with five Colorado constituents. The dinner guests included people who had written him on various issues, ranging from an upholstery store employee who thanked him for helping raise the minimum wage to a student at UNC who struggling to pay for college.

The large crowd gathered at the club to watch the Rockies game was reportedly stunned when the POTUS (press pool speak for “President of the United States) walked in the door. Several  stood, clapped and let out shouts of support. Obama shook hands and talked the talk, reportedly remarking on a bartender’s multicolored facial hair: “That’s a cool ‘stache.”

He then made his way to his dinner guests, who thankfully did not get held up in motorcade traffic. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he told them. “We’re going to have some pizza and talk.”

An hour later, Obama left the Wazee via motorcade to the Wynkoop Brewery but abruptly changed course halfway there and headed down 15th Street. There, he greeted a smattering of lookyloos, including a group holding a “Free weed for Obama” sign and one man wearing a horse head, whose message was unclearly conveyed, according to one pool reporter.

For about 10 minutes, Obama “worked both sides of the street,” delivering requisite fist bumps and making an exception to his “no photos” rule for a boy in a Red Sox jersey. He then headed to the Wynkoop, where he had a billiards date with Gov. John Hickenlooper, a founder of the brewery.

Both men were said to have ordered beers, “possibly IPAs based on the appearance.” Apparently both rusty in their bar sports, the game got off to a slow start. Eventually the few sips of IPA kicked in, and Obama’s (solids) inner pool shark came out, sinking several shots.

Despite Hick’s efforts to dispatch the press ahead of his looming carnage, reporters stuck around long enough to see Obama clean up and heckle his opponent. “Did you record that?” Obama asked, pointing to Hick’s five unanswered shots.

Alas, no one will ever know if the schooling continued, as the press pool was soon ushered out. But there is little doubt another round of beer was ordered up – the motorcade was rolling to the Denver Renaissance Hotel at a respectable 8:42 p.m.