OBAMA AND BIDEN GO TO RAY'S HELL BURGER

This is what MSNBC considers BREAKING NEWS.

Good grief. Andrea Mitchell should be embarrassed.

This was pure propaganda. Obama and Biden, regular guys, go out for burgers. Of course, they invite the press to come along and the big spenders offer to buy them lunch. What great guys!



Transcript

ANDREA MITCHELL: And this just in... What you're watching is two guys going out for lunch. It's Ray's Burgers, which is an institution in Arlington, Virginia. And the president, the vice president... I gather they paid, each paid for their own, and also chipped in and bought for the press pool, the small group that accompanied them. I'm not sure if you can hear any sound here, guys, of them ordering. I guess not, but... seems a little bit of... I...

So, it's known as Ray's Hell Burger. And I'm talking about a cheeseburger here, mustard. I'm not sure about hot sauce. The burgers sell for $6.95 each. It's a 10 ounce burger, at a strip plaza not far from the White House.

I'm also told by the experts in the control room who have watched all of this that the president wanted fries. They didn't have 'em, so he tried the potato puffs.

A little bonding at the weekly lunch between the president and the vice president. I'm not sure if it's as good as the White House mess. It certainly has more atmosphere.

And as you can see, it's not the usual picture of the president and the vice president. We don't... as we watch the president deciding what he's going to order. It seems a little easier in the White House. The White House stewards bring in the menu and he checks off what he wants.

And, Kelly O'Donnell, I gather that this is your favorite burger place so tell us about the neighborhood and what happens when the president and the vice president arrive for lunch.

KELLY O'DONNELL: Well, you know Andrea, it is, it's funny, because living in the greater Washington, D.C. area, we see motorcades from time to time. But when I heard they were going to my favorite neighborhood joint, I was quite surprised by that. Ray's is one of those kind of plain, little hole in the wall places with fantastic burgers. And they also have a steak place, which is one of the best rated in the Washington, D.C. area. So, I don't mean to be doing a commercial for them, but it's the kind of place where he will have a satisfying, thick, juicy burger and all of the extras.

So, it's a place I often walk to. It's a fun spot. And, darn, I wish I was having lunch there today.

Oh my God.

MITCHELL: And it strikes me that this is not the usual lunch joint for the president and the vice president of the United States.

O'DONNELL: Yes, they didn't want the fancy china and the wonderful creations of the White House kitchen, which as you know are fantastic. But this certainly gets him out into the neighborhoood, and it's got that sort of 'real guy' kind of quality. And it's good stuff. But as you mentioned, he couldn't order fries. They have a few different things, like they don't have normal line of sodas. They don't have french fries. They do things a little bit differently and they pride themselves on that.

MITCHELL: And apparently the president and the vice president paid for the press corps, but joked that they were cheap dates, that he couldn't get enough of them to order a burger. He did leave a five dollar bill in the tip jar.

O'DONNELL: I'm sure that will be appreciated. Yes. I'm sure the folks behind the counter will be delighted and I would imagine they'll have pictures of this on their wall very soon. Who knew we'd be talking about this today, Andrea?

MITCHELL: Exactly.

Right. Who knew?

Obama was impressed with this: "They got root beer on tap."

Wow. Big stuff.

Listening to Mitchell struggle to cover this breaking news was hilarious. The fawning O'Donnell's contributions were so goofy.

The burgers sell for $6.95, but this clip is priceless.

Thank you, Andrea Mitchell, Kelly O'Donnell, and MSNBC.