My dream beer summit

The recent so-called "beer summit", convened by President Obama in an attempt to open a dialogue about race relations in America in the 21st century, forced me to ask myself a tough question: With what U.S. president would I like to sit down and have a couple of beers?

As far as the kinds of questions I usually ask, I thought this was a pretty darn good one (who says this blog isn't topical? Well, besides me, I mean), so I asked some other people what they thought and this is what they said:

• "Good question: I would say Jefferson or Reagan." -- Jim J.
  
• "Damn, now that's a 'thinker'. I'm going to have to get back to you on that one ." -- Michael N.
  
• "Definitely Teddy (Roosevelt)." -- Michael L.
  
• "None. I don't drink beer." -- Marissa R.
  
• "Definitely Sam Adams. Oh wait, he wasn't a president. But he makes such great beer!" -Allison G.N.
  
• "Um, I'd say William McKinley for none other than he was assassinated in Buffalo, New York, my hometown." -- Jessica S-R.

For what it's worth, here's my list:

1. Teddy Roosevelt - One time actual American Bad Ass, Teddy Roosevelt was the Hunter S. Thompson of presidents, the gonzo president. Beers with Teddy Roosevelt would be endlessly entertaining and the experience would only be marred by the inevitable conclusion, which would consist of Teddy tipping the table over, taking off his shirt, putting up his dukes and saying, "come now, let's have a go."


2. Richard Nixon - This wouldn't be nearly as lively an experience as pounding a few with Teddy, but it would be interesting.


3. Bill Clinton - Beers would be good. Shots of tequila would be awesome! And there would probably be girls there.


4. John F. Kennedy - See above.


5. Andrew Jackson - This would be fun for many of the same reasons it would be fun to hang out with Teddy, but "Ol' Hickory" had a reputation for getting all "rooty-tooty, let's go out back and shooty-shooty" to settle disputes.


6. Jimmy Carter - Just don't break out the 30-year-old Billy Beer.


7. Franklin Roosevelt - For some reason, I get the feeling he'd be more of a martini president. I think it's the cigarette holder.


8. William Howard Taft - Just a couple of fat guys throwing back some suds, probably talking about baseball. What's not to like?


9. Thomas Jefferson - See #3 and #4.


10. Millard Fillmore - I've never met a dude named Millard. If I did, I'd buy him a beer.