AT A KEG FACTORY, BUSH TAPS OLD TIMES

GREER, S.C., Nov. 10 -- President Bush was holding one of his Oprah-style
roundtables with regular, red-blooded workers to talk about jobs, when
Stephen Thies of Spartanburg Stainless Products showed he's a man who knows
his audience.

Thies, president of the company from nearby Spartanburg, delivered his
scripted pablum about metal stampings and assemblies, then blurted out: "We
also make beer kegs -- we're the only American beer keg manufacturer in
North America."

This drew applause from the audience, which was stocked with stout
employees who turn stacks of chassis, rear quarter panels and assorted
other parts into BMWs.

And it sure got the attention of the president.

"I quit drinking in '86," said Bush, who now indulges only in an occasional
Buckler non-alcoholic brew. "But I bet some of the people out here use the
product." He paused for the laughter. "I'm not going to point out which ones."

The workers had been gathered at a BMW Manufacturing Corp. assembly line
Monday afternoon under Hollywood-style lighting for a White House
"conversation on the economy with employers and employees." In case anyone
might miss the point, Bush's aides had hung a huge sign that read
"Strengthening America's Economy" where the cameras couldn't miss it.

Thies had his own sense of comic timing. He just let 'em chuckle. Then he
said, "Well, we did notice a dip in demand at a point in time." As the
hoots died down, he added, "Probably no relationship."

"Pretty observant fellow, aren't you?" the president parried.

After that, they went back to tax relief, the child credit and capital
investment.

Bush, whose hard partying these days is confined to state-dinner toasts
with a water glass, rarely discusses his wild years anymore. He invoked
them in September in Houston, as he lauded faith-based programs to help
people kick alcohol and drugs. "I know firsthand what it takes to quit
drinking, and it takes something other than a textbook or a manual," he
said. "If you change a person's heart, you can change their life."

In Dallas last month, at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Youth Education Center,
Bush thrust a finger at the audience as he said: "See, if you change their
heart, then they change their behavior. I know!"