President Clinton's Favorite Sandwich Is A Sweet Childhood Classic

After eight years of Reagan and four years of Bush, the Democrats were led out of the political wilderness by a folksy governor from Arkansas (this was back when Arkansas elected Democratic governors). Bill Clinton's moderate, "third way" policy stances were sometimes controversial among the party faithful, but they got results, at least in the short term. And it can't be overstated how politically gifted he was in his prime: He possessed a natural charisma that made him seem equally at home touring Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth II as he was peeling off a sax solo on "The Arsenio Hall Show." In other words, he was the kind of politician who could claim that his favorite sandwich was peanut butter and banana without everyone in America rolling their eyes.

In 1992, not long after his election, Clinton told manufacturers at a Ziploc plant that peanut butter and banana was his go-to sandwich option. Politicians trying to make themselves relatable through food can easily fall flat — just ask onetime presidential hopeful Scott Walker, who weirded everyone out when he claimed to have eaten 19,000 ham and cheese sandwiches in his life — but Clinton had no such problem. Maybe it was because he shared his taste for the sandwich with one of his favorite musicians, Elvis Presley (after all, it was "Heartbreak Hotel" Clinton played on that sax), or maybe it was because he had been photographed eating the sandwich before. Either way, it just seemed plausible.

As far as Bill Clinton's favorite foods go, peanut butter and banana sandwiches actually ranks among the healthier options — there is, at least, fruit involved. Some of his other choices, at least back when he was president, were a little more on the indulgent side. He had a taste for buttery shortbread cookies, which he claimed to have acquired when he was studying at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. For dessert, he loved to eat ice cream, which he had in common with a few other presidents. And he would visit McDonald's so often, as both Governor of Arkansas and as president, that one location in Little Rock put a plaque on their building in his honor. (He was especially fond of Egg McMuffins, one of his favorite breakfast foods.)

But today, you won't find Clinton eating any of those foods. After dealing with heart disease during his post-presidency, including a quadruple bypass in 2004 and an operation to insert stents in 2010, he switched to a vegan diet, and — like anyone who switches to a vegan diet — went around telling everyone who would listen much better he felt. (Except in his case he was a former president, so he got to tell it to, like, Wolf Blitzer.) But hey, peanut butter and banana sandwiches are technically vegan, right? Maybe he could use some Teddie's Natural Peanut Butter, our second-favorite peanut butter, and spread it on some whole grain bread to satisfy those cravings.