The big prize was the beer test. By 2004 the major news organizations were regularly commissioning this poll as a serious indicator. Bush walloped John Kerry that year in a Zogby re-hash of the Sam Adams quiz, winning with 57 percent of voters. A tradition was born. Reporters love the beer test because it’s a way of making elections about something other than politics. It’s also a great way to make elections about us. No crowd of millions ever banged down the door of Time magazine and demanded, “We want a president who’s a good beer companion.” No, that idea came from a beer company, and
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