The Yahoo Ticket blog posted perhaps THE definitive story of the 2012 campaign and of Super Tuesday thus far: How much caffeine political reporters consume while out there following the campaign trail.
Sure, we drink a lot of coffee on Morning Joe (well, everyone except Willie), and this pretty thorough report (or expose?) on the caffeine habits of political journos is intense.
“According to an informal survey of political reporters conducted by Yahoo News, a daily four-cup intake seems to be pretty much the norm,” Dylan Stableford writes. “By contrast, the average American consumes about half that, or 280 milligrams of caffeine per day, the equivalent of about two and a half cups, according to data from the Center for Science in the Public Interest.”
Buzzfeed’s McKay Coppins admits to kicking back about five Diet Cokes a day. Politico’s Dylan Byers goes for three iced coffees per day.
But what about our own Chuck Todd? Todd tells Stableford he’s installed a Keurig machine in his D.C. office: “It’s close to having an actual coffee I.V.,” Todd told Yahoo News. “I’m up to four to five grande size cups a day, usually three by 10 a.m.” Thanks to the Keurig, he estimates his coffee consumption is now reaching close to a gallon a day. On the trail, Todd–who calls himself a “Dunkin’” guy–drinks the more ubiquitous Starbucks, “but frankly I’ll drink any rot gut at any Courtyard, Embassy Suites, or the like.” (His only request: a pack of Sugar in the Raw to cut the taste of day old coffee sitting around road hotel lobbies.)
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