Following NBC’s Lead, CBS Touts White House ‘Beer Summit’

After NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams fawned Tuesday over President Obama planning to have a beer with Sergeant Crowley and Professor Gates, on Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith similarly declared: "...it’s being called the ‘beer summit.’ Tomorrow’s meeting between the President, the professor, and the policeman. We’re going to tell you what’s on tap."

Smith, along with co-hosts Russ Mitchell and Maggie Rodriguez, later devoted nearly two minutes of air time to discussing who would drink what brand of beer at the White House meeting, with Blue Moon, Budweiser, and Beck’s sitting on the table in front of them.

On NBC, Williams reported: "Professor Gates reported to be a Red Stripe man, Crowley is said to be partial to Blue Moon and the White House isn't talking about the President's brand of choice. That might constitute, you see, a White House endorsement."

Here is a full transcript of the Early Show exchange:

7:13AM TEASE:

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: The President pours a cold one for the professor and the policeman.

7:19AM TEASE:

HARRY SMITH: Coming up next, it’s being called the ‘beer summit.’ Tomorrow’s meeting between the President, the professor, and the policeman. We’re going to tell you what’s on tap.

7:23AM SEGMENT:

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ [REFERRING TO BEER ON SET]: Breakfast time, just kidding.

HARRY SMITH: So the big beer summit is tomorrow night, right? With Sergeant Crowley and Skip Gates and President Obama. You don’t know which is which beer right?

RUSS MITCHELL: I do not. I don’t know who picked what.

SMITH: Do you want to – do you want to guess? Do you want to venture a guess?

RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, take a guess.

SMITH: This is good.

MITCHELL: Well – well, much like Budweiser, I was once known as the ‘king of beers.’

[LAUGHTER]

MITCHELL: So I’m going to guess that Budweiser-

SMITH: Right.

MITCHELL: -is going to be the pick that-

RODRIGUEZ: For?

MITCHELL: For Sergeant Crowley.

RODRIGUEZ: Okay.

SMITH: Okay.

MITCHELL: Blue Moon for Skip Gates, and Beck’s for the President.

RODRIGUEZ: Completely wrong.

MITCHELL: Really?

SMITH: That’s great. That’s really good.

MITCHELL: Well, hey, hey, hey.

SMITH: That’s really good.

MITCHELL: Alright.

SMITH: The President was at the All-Star game recently and he drank-

MITCHELL: -a Budweiser.

SMITH: There you go.

MITCHELL: Oh, there you go.

SMITH: Now – but about these two, that’s what’s really interesting, right? Because James Bond, martini, ‘shaken not stirred.’ You know, like Willie Nelson and Toby Keith, you know, ‘whiskey for my men, beer for my horses.’ You are what you drink, right?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes.

SMITH: Sergeant Crowley drinks Blue Moon, this is a wheat ale, it’s a micro-brewery from Colorado, right? This is – and Skip Gates is-

RODRIGUEZ: Drinks Beck’s.

SMITH: It’s a pilsner, you know, it’s foreign without being fru-fru.

RUSS MITCHELL: Gosh. I was – I was totally wrong.

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: It’s interesting if they do serve these, because, you know, dating back to the Johnson administration, the White House is only supposed to stock American beers. So they would have to break with that tradition. So I don’t know if they’re going to get their wish with the Beck’s.

SMITH: Yeah, there you go. But a beer with an orange slice. I mean, really it’s quite good, I know from personal experience.

MITCHELL: That’s actually very good. Yes, yes, you’re the king of beers, perhaps.

[LAUGHTER]

RODRIGUEZ: Three beers, three of us. If we’re really, really happy for the rest of the show, or sleepy, you’ll know why.