President Proves He’s Not a Loafer

HOUSTON — President Bush says it’s not true that he is out of touch with regular Americans. And to prove it, he guessed right Friday on the price of a loaf of bread.

In an interview conducted here with WFAA-TV of Dallas, Bush was asked if he knew what bread cost.

“In Dallas? No, I don’t,” he confessed, but then he ventured a guess.

“I’d say . . . it would cost you about a buck a loaf. How close is it?” he asked the interviewer.

Bush was visibly relieved to hear he was in the ballpark. Bread prices vary widely and many brands are considerably higher, but a loaf can be had for about $1 in supermarkets.

“I don’t go to the supermarket as President. I don’t think people expect the President to do that. But I think I’m in touch. I think I know when people are hurting,” he told WFAA.

“I read the mail. I try to identify. . . . The concept of the President that he’s not in touch with people because he’s not out in that food kitchen every day--I just don’t identify with that at all,” Bush said.