Remember John Edwards? He Runs a Tiny Law Firm Now!

[quote] Kerry said he thought they’d just stop by as a “hat tip” gesture and then go on to a nicer restaurant but they had the whole meal at Wendy’s.

Kerry has an unpleasant history with Wendy's so this must bring back horrible memories. On the 2004 campaign trail Kerry, Edwards, and their crew stopped at a Wendy's to show they were 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑘𝑠. It did the opposite.

Arriving in Newburgh (Orange County), NY the caravan, including ten buses, assorted campaign staff, actor Ben Affleck, and over 100 reporters, made a stop at Wendy's. As described in various news accounts, the Edwardses each ordered a Classic Combo Single (hers without cheese, his with) and a soft drink and they shared a Frosty while the Kerrys (perhaps recalling the chili feeds from the NH primary) had a bowl of chili and a Frosty.

The candidates' efforts to chat with several marines in the restaurant did not turn out well as they were Bush supporters. Further, the Wendy's stop caused Kerry and Edwards to arrive an hour and a half late for their rally in Scranton. Kerry's critics were quick to suggest the Wendy's stop was a "charade"--not "the real deal.

Cementing the Wendy's story entrance into the realm of campaign lore, MidHudsonNews.com reported on Aug. 1 that, "A member of the Kerry advance team called Nikola's Restaurant at the Newburgh Yacht Club the night before and ordered five-star lunches to go that would be picked up at noon Friday." The meals, which included 𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒑 𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒐, 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒂 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒐-𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒏.

Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" on Aug. 2: "On Friday, it was John Edwards' wedding anniversary; Edwards, Kerry and their wives all stopped at a Wendy's to eat. That's a tradition with the Edwards to always go to Wendy's on their anniversary because that's where they went on their first date [sic] so they brought the Kerrys with them. I don't want to say that Kerry's wife Teresa had never been to a Wendy's before, but she ordered the pheasant."

Mark Steyn wrote a column on the episode in the Telegraph (United Kingdom) on Aug. 3 ("Could Kerry slum it in the White House?") opined that Kerry's "faux lunch order captures the essence of his crowd-working style: chilli and Frosty."

Photos of the Marine Sergeants coldly rejecting Kerry used to be online but it appears they are now gone down the Memory Hole.