A wisecracking, prankish Bush

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Feb 15, 2002

WASHINGTON (AP) -- George W. Bush mugs for the camera. He pats a reporter's bald head and, mimicking a preacher, intones, "Heal." He sticks his fingers in the ears of another. "The coolest thing of all was to light up a butt," he confides, fondly recalling the days before he quit smoking. Hardly the kind of images the White House would consider presidential.

Bush's aides are bracing for the release of two behind-the-scenes accounts of the president's 2000 presidential campaign -- one a book, the other a documentary film -- that reveal a wisecracking, prankish side seldom seen in public.

The book is Ambling Into History: The Unlikely Odyssey of George W. Bush, by New York Times reporter Frank Bruni. The film is Journeys with George, by former NBC news producer Alexandra Pelosi. Both are due out in early March. Both Bruni and Pelosi covered Bush's presidential campaign, and both portray the candidate as a relaxed, but often culturally challenged, cutup.

Some administration aides were apprehensive, fearing the Bruni book and Pelosi film might provide new fodder for late-night comedians and revive old questions about Bush's intellect, syntax and competency -- criticism that has faded as Bush's war-driven approval ratings have soared. White House communications director Dan Bartlett says there's "more curiosity than anything else." He said both accounts might help give the public a fuller sense of Bush's personality.

Bruni's book, which goes on sale March 5, reports that Bush considered Chuck Norris his favorite actor, had never heard of Titanic movie star Leonardo DiCaprio, didn't know Friends was a TV show, and favored a campaign-trail diet of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Fritos and Cheese Doodles. The pre-presidential Bush was "part scamp, part bumbler, a timeless fraternity boy and heedless cutup, a weekday gym rat and weekend napster," Bruni writes.

Bush would playfully pinch, poke and put headlocks on male reporters, pat bald ones on the head, and once put his index fingers in Bruni's ears "to illustrate that a comment he was about to make would be off the record," he writes. But Bruni also suggests that Bush matured along the way, and has gone on to project clarity of purpose and presidential power in leading the nation in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Pelosi, the daughter of House Democratic Whip Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D- Calif., carried her own personal camcorder and used it to capture Bush's antics and horseplay on the nearly two-year-long campaign trail. Bush often wandered into the press section in the back of his campaign plane to banter with reporters, photographers and network crew members. He mugged frequently for Pelosi's handheld camera, making faces, joking, even dispensing mock romantic advice. In the footage, Bush gulps a nonalcoholic beer with relish at one point. "It takes an animal to know an animal," he tells revelers on his plane.

The changing face of the Bake-Off

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Just mention Bake-Off and Pillsbury comes to mind. Pillsbury even trademarked the word. In the 39 past Pillsbury Bake-Off Contests, competitors only used products made by Pillsbury in their recipes. Not this year. The company, a unit of General Mills, no longer makes all the products marketed under the Pillsbury name.

When the 100 finalists gather in Orlando, Feb. 24-27 to whip up their entries for the judges, it's possible the $1 million grand prize winner will be based on a product from International Multifoods. Eleven of the 100 recipes in the finals are based on Multifoods products. Multifoods will take the bows if winning entries use Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Frosting; Rich & Moist Fudge Brownie Mix or Thick `n Fudgy Deluxe Brownie Mix; Banana, Cranberry, Pumpkin, Nut or Lemon Poppy Seed Quick Bread and Muffin Mix or Cinnamon Swirl or Pecan Swirl Quick Bread and Coffee Cake Mix.

Multifoods acquired Pillsbury's desserts and specialty products businesses last November as part of General Mills' purchase of Pillsbury from Diageo. Government regulators forced the deal because the Pillsbury dessert products competed directly with General Mills' Betty Crocker line. But the deal happened after the rules were printed for Pillsbury's 40th Bake-Off Contest.

For the two companies, the Bake-Off competition is a friendly one, said Multifoods spokeswoman Jill Schmidt, who will attend the Bake- Off and has happily tasted some of the recipes. "It's really about the Pillsbury Bake-Off," she said. "I think everybody understands that."

Stay tuned to see if Betty Crocker beats out Pillsbury's Doughboy in the list of required ingredients for the next Bake-Off in 2004. "The companies will evaluate the impact, the success," Schmidt said. "Both companies would have to make decisions about future participation."

Days of wine and roses

NEW YORK (AP) -- Today is the 46th day of 2002. There are 319 days left in the year. Here are some business and legal highlights from this date in history:

In 1764, the city of St. Louis was established.