Yes, Pecan.

Today, more than a million joined together in the nation's capital to welcome in the 44th president of the United States. If you were not among those out there in the bitter cold, have no fear...you too can simulate the cold by enjoying in our favorite treat -- ice cream!

A while back we shared with you someone's idea for Yes, Pecan ice cream, and Ben and Jerry's has finally, um, created it (truthfully, in all actuality B&J has simply renamed their butter pecan ice cream for the month of January)! For the remainder of the month, stop by your nearest scoop shop for the buttery ice cream with roasted pecans. Added bonus: All proceeds from the sale of Yes, Pecan will be donated to Common Cause, "a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1970 by John Gardner as a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest." (from the Common Cause "About Us" page)

Well, I am off to watch the parade on TV. I love parades!

(Image from the commoncause.org webpage.)

Candidates for Ice Cream, or Ice Cream for Candidates?

Out of curiousity (or boredom? -- I am waiting for the few trick or treaters who actually walk up the large hill of our dead end street...yes, it will be a long night) I did a Google search for "[candidate name] ice cream" and here are some of my favorites.

Back in the early days of the 2008 race for the White House, slate.com got us excited for a new flavor idea for Ben & Jerry's, Yes, Pecan!...this name was thought up by Aaron Nathan. Or was it? Rumor (or comments below) suggest this was on the Obama site some while before Aaron's submission, but it seems that Aaron was not aware of this when he came up with the idea in the library. Either way, it's a great name and flavor idea, and we wish B&J would make it! Go here for the rest of the story and some other great Obama ice cream names.

Comedy Central's Indecision 2008 called for entries Photoshopping John McCain...the first entry (and undoubtedly our favorite) involved McCain and a big ice cream cone...if only I could be John McCain in that photo.

Not much of note on Sarah Palin and ice cream. Turns out she is a fan of Moosetracks Ice Cream. According to the LA Times, that's what the Republican VP chose when she, John, and Cindy stopped at an ice cream shop in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Big news on the Sarah Palin/Ice Cream front. To make this banal story a little more interesting, the Denver Latest Word Blog notes a little faux pas made by the Denver Post: Apparently, in a story about a crash into a Baskin Robbins, someone mistakenly inserted Sarah Palin's picture instead of the scene of the crash. Nah, still not much more interesting.

Whatdy'a know Joe? In Biden/ice cream news, the basic story is that Joe Biden has been to a lot of ice cream shops. As the SeattlePi puts it "[Biden] is simply out there visiting ice cream parlors and keeping his famous mouth shut except for a lick or two after a couple of somewhat embarrassing gaffes -- a tendency for which he has been notorious throughout his career." (from "The Disappearing Joe Biden", Dan K. Thomasson, Seattlepi.com). Now there's nothing wrong with that, Joe. We've been known to shove ice cream in our mouths too, instead of risking making inappropriate comments.

If you haven't decided on your candidate yet, maybe your favorite ice cream story can help you shed some light!

"Yes, Pecan" image from Slate.com and McCain/ice cream photo from Indecision2008.com.

The true scoop on our candidates

Not getting all political here. Just nice to know that our future president loves ice cream too! Even our presidential candidates won't let summer end without a scoop or two. The Obama and McCain teams both hit local shops on August 29th to share America's favorite dessert. Looks like its the cone vs. the dish!

Barack makes a stop at Windmill Ice Cream Shop in Aliquippa, Pa.,
for a good old fashioned Butter Pecan on a plain cone.

Double fisting! And one looks like two scoops. Biden doesn't fool around. According to this article Biden says, "I may have vices but this is my biggest one."  Well we here at scoopalicious sure can relate to that!

The McCain camp hits Concord, Ohio for some scoops. Looks like they don't like to get their hands dirty. Dishes of soft serve for the Republicans.

I think the debates would be much more interesting if they would debate the cone vs the dish or maybe soft serve vs hard ice cream. Seriously let's talk Mint Chocolate Chip vs plain old Vanilla. It's the right to choose..ice cream that is!

Photos: Reuters