I’ve already confessed my preference for local, craft-brewed beer.

And if I haven’t done so already, I must give a shout-out to Drinking Liberally (feel free to join us the second and fourth Tuesday of every month)  — which combines two of my great loves: beer and politics.

Little did I know that my innocent predilections, however, have actually been preparing me to assume the presidency — or at least to hang out with the leader of the free world.

In a short but well-hopped cultural analysis, Rex W. Huppke of the Chicago Tribune dissects why presidents and candidates must show their affection for America’s beverage of choice:

“Beer has become kind of the cultural leveler in our society,” noted Ken Janda, professor emeritus of political science at Northwestern University. “It can go across all classes of society – it’s a symbol of equality. You’d never say, ‘He’s a nice guy to have a glass of wine with.’”

[...]

Let’s not forget the previous presidential campaign in which about 60 percent of undecided voters conceded they’d rather have a beer with George W. Bush than with John Kerry. (The irony there, of course, was that Bush doesn’t drink and Kerry, if he had a couple beers, might have actually become interesting.)

Huppke also notes how President Barack Obama has indicated more than once that he is an avid beer drinker.  To make my progressive dream come full circle, however, Obama would have a soft spot for local microbrews.

And, it appears, he does — as the Secret Service had to stop him recently from bringing in some InaugurAle from one of his (and our) favorite Chicago brewpubs, Piece.