  I'm no fan of Tom DeLay;  never have been. nbsp;  But today he went onto my " I Really Hate This Guy"  list.
 DeLay spent his time yesterday criticizing a promotion being run in Germany by Subway,  in which trayliners at the company's local franchises feature the promotional slide for " Super Size Me"  an independent film ( played in Europe recently)  in which the filmmaker eats nothing but McDonald's food for 50 days,
 and gains 25 pounds as a result. nbsp;  The point of the film is to discuss why Americans are commonly overweight,  blaming the fast food industry for much of the problem. nbsp;  Part of the tray liner is a figure of the Statue of Liberty,
 in parody:  holding aloft an order of french fries and being quite overweight. nbsp;  I'm not sure whether or not the Statue parody is part of the movie's materials;  it may be. nbsp;
 DeLay found all this offensive,  and also criticized Subway for allowing the promotion to go on. nbsp;  Clearly DeLay hasn't a clue that multinational brands such as Subway do not dictate local promotions and have no say in the matter at all. nbsp;  DeLay,
 being a lockstep republican in tune with the White House,  likes taking instructions,  and probably assumed that the Subway HQ in Connecticut must have approved the promotion,  whereas the rest of us in the business world knows that they probably hadn't even heard of it until DeLay opened his mouth. nbsp;  But DeLay has no problem denouncing Subway as a whole for the promotion.
nbsp;  DeLay further displays his idiocy when he included Michael Moore for criticism;  a quote from Moore is featured on the trayliner,  but it is a quote referring only to McDonald's. nbsp;  The quote is not represented in the article I read,
 but is purported to be an anti- McDonald's quote from the movie itself. nbsp;  Why would DeLay go out of his way to criticize this aspect of the promo? nbsp;  Perhaps because since Moore made an anti-
Bush film,  he must be anti- American? nbsp;  Perhaps because as Bush's most outspoken and famous critic,  DeLay sought to gain favor with the President by denouncing Moore?
nbsp;  DeLay's sanctimonious attitude really came out in this statement:  " For Subway to thumb its nose at its American customers and promote Michael Moore's blame- America- first conspiracy in a foreign country is very concerning"
nbsp;  Let's analyze this. nbsp;  As already discussed,  Subway corporate had nothing to do with the campaign;  it is a local franchisee doing the promotion.
nbsp;  No doubt the worldwide Subway headquarters never even heard of the promo -  nor should they be expected to. nbsp;  And since the promo targets local German customers in Germany,  how is Subway therefore "
thumbing its nose at its American customers" nbsp;  If anything,  Subway is thumbing its nose at American customers of McDonald's,  not Subway. nbsp;
 And how does one thumb its nose at American customers when the trayliners are in Germany?  But here we go with the clearly " See Mr.  President,  I Stuck Up For You"  ass-
kissing of which DeLay is most guilty. nbsp;  He claims that the promotion promotes Michael Moore's " blame- America- first conspiracy"
nbsp;  How? nbsp;  How does Moore's comment about McDonald's in a movie that targets a serious problem in America,  translate to an anti- American crusade?
nbsp;  Where the hell doesDeLay get this stuff? nbsp;  Neither Moore,  nor film director Morgan Spurlock,  are the first to criticize McDonald's,
 and blaming an American problem on an American corporation does not strike me as being anti- American. nbsp;  If anything,  it strikes me as being an attempt to solve a problem that concerns many Americans,  something that DeLay should try doing some time.
 So rather than spending his time trying to solve the real problems in America,  DeLay chooses to make fatuous speeches about what a marketing specialist in Germany does to promote his products. nbsp;  So the trayliners can be thoughtof as being somewhat anti- American;  but so what?
nbsp;  Germany is a free country,  a democratic state,  and thus its people are entitled to express themselves as they so choose. nbsp;  And even then,
 I don't see the trayliners as anti- American;  they may say that Americans are disproportionately fat,  but is this not a proven fact? nbsp;  Has McDonald's not tacitly acknowledged some culpability by introducing salads and other healthier fare to their menus?
nbsp;  To his credit,  DeLay does point out the use of the word " Amis"  on the trayliner,  which is a low-
grade derogatory reference to an American,  much as we use " Krauts"  to describe the Germans,  or " Frogs"
 to the French. nbsp;  But there are far more offensive words that could be used,  and if DeLay is so thin- skinned,  how did he get to be the House Majority Leader?
 It is clear that DeLay's speech is meant to pander to the " I'm So Patriotic" crowd in an election year. nbsp;  I doubt that he has any personal vendetta against Subway,  but he certainly won't endear himself to them after these largely baseless remarks.
nbsp;  And since when would this be his call,  anyway? nbsp;  Since he is no defender of free speech in this country,  one certainly wouldn't expect him to defend it in another country.
nbsp;  But you would expect a public official to realize that poking fun at another country is not nearly the same as attacking it. nbsp;  DeLay and his party have long displayed a lack of sense of humor,  and this reaction demonstrates that perhaps they just lack sense,  period.
