Cigs, Paddles, Pens, Jelly Beans, M&M's, beer!, vaccinations, and finally...(chocolate chip) cookies!

Mr. Smith and Mrs. Fields go to Washington: The lighter, sweet side of current events includes how the Bidens, upon re-entering the White House, have brought with them a new recipe for (at least domestic) diplomacy. Distributing chocolate chip cookies, that is. Right from the start, right out of the oven, as the new first lady saw the wisdom and sweet intuition to know that just about everyone has a soft spot in their 'constitution' for these scrumptious staples, whether they prefer them soft or slightly burnt and crunchy, whether with milk or let them stand alone on their own merits...when she distributed them to the National Guard as a tender "Thank You" for keeping everyone safe throughout the inauguration of her husband. And now, still fairly early in his tenure as diplomat-in-chief, President Biden has started using CCC's to leverage his oral arguments while having guests from both sides of the aisle visit the oval office. Not only do I find flavor, I mean favor, for his flair as a good host, but also his intuitive side in softening criticism, in finding a way to cleanse the palate of bad taste in politics throughout the nation...for "if we can't agree to get along while consuming chocolate chips, it's a recipe for..." Quote MINE. If you haven't detected the aroma already, this simple gesture also offers up more than a morsel of metaphors regarding the critical function of  diplomacy for the public to consume here and abroad which, of course, has taken many forms throughout former presidencies...

Back-and-Forth, Ping Pong: Besides the natural, literal  back and forth traveling that ambassadors and diplomats endure, you may also not readily recall (especially if not a 'boomer') that our current state of affairs with China, where we both tend to paddle each other in the forum of the world press, went through an actual warming up phase involving paddles. That is, in 1971 in Nagoya, Japan (neutral venue?) a ping-pong match became a focus for a partial thaw in Sino-American relations, that in turn paved a way for a visit to Beijing by President Nixon in 1972. His favor with the U.S. public as well as our relations with this nation bounced back-and-forth since, with various topics being taken 'off the table' from time to time, in part based on who's serving, who's hosting...

It all De-Pens, a firm hand (shake): While the actual act of shaking hands has always been a hallmark of beginning and ending an episode of diplomacy (fist bumps, then elbows, then...?), the practice of using multiple pens in signing legislation and then giving them out as souvenirs has almost become as commonplace, the established practice of which goes back to at least the Truman years. The reasons for using multiple pens throughout this past year in particular has changed somewhat but the practice endures. But, did you know, that way before Truman, one of the most famous signings (i.e., the "Emancipation Proclamation") became an acute focus on the power of the pen, the signature in particular--according to the scholar-historian Harold Holzer (among others), after President Lincoln had already delayed the singing after discovering a mistake ('proofreader-in-chief?), which eventuated in sending it back to a scribe for a re-write, he delayed it a second time, dramatically in front of many notable historical figures...turns out that a marathon of hand shaking over this accomplishment had resulted in an actual shaky signing hand: "...if I signed the proclamation in a quaking hand, even though my heart is in it, people will look at my signature in 100 years and think (he) hesitated..."

On Mars - Sweeten, Listen Up: In a tacit attempt to soften up those in attendance, to sustain congeniality, if not get stuff done, we witnessed President Reagan's penchant for the ubiquitous jars of jelly beans, whereas earlier, during JFK, cigarettes were supplied to White House and Air Force One personnel and press...given that sweets can be a trigger for smoking, can you imagine how a few holdovers from the Kennedy era may have had difficulty coping with the presence of sweets and the now ever present "No Smoking" signs..."Excuse me, Mr. President, but I need to go outside for a (smoke)..." Then there's the (zillion) case of M&M's, which became a staple in diplomatic pouches and initiatives. Nancy Reagan, for example, offered them up to Russian kiddos during a summit, after which they started becoming more available to White House guests...George Bush extended them not only to guests but employees (as part of his vetting, I wonder if they looked at GB's stock in "Mars"). President Clinton altered the packaging of these mini morsels to include the signature of the sitting president beneath the presidential seal and in 2014, after President Obama, after receiving some historical works as a gift from the Spanish Prime Minister, returned the gesture with some presidential M&M's, which evoked some accusations of 'inequality' in the Spanish press...who actually lacked good taste here? This was preceded by Obama's so-called "Beer Summit" in 2009, an attempt to bridge racial divide over a good brew...guessing M&M's were supplanted by some sort of nuts or other snack here...

Dollars to Donuts: No, I'm not talking here about the idiom originating in the 1800's, referring to a high level of confidence, in the certainty of an outcome (like peace talks?). Instead, it's a reference first to the period of 1909-1913, of the Taft administration, which was known for its "dollar diplomacy", a diplomatic approach characterized by guaranteeing loans in strategically important countries. And a sweet domestic diplomatic mash-up between donuts and vaccines, brought to you by the 'Krispy Kreme' administration, who are offering free donuts for those who get vaccinated for COVID...other donut companies have criticized this approach as being full of holes... 

The Growing Middle: So here we are, finally at a place where we can all agree on a wholesome approach to internal and external affairs, after a sustained period that many aspirants to the White House have attempted to appeal to enlarging the 'middle class' (whatever that means, these days). If not building a bigger base for supporting legislation yet to come, the practice of supplying a 'supply side' amount of chocolate chip cookies guarantees a larger midsection!

So, "Let them eat cake...cookies!"