Harry Truman would never say soil amendments

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns was delivering a speech in Kansas City on April 18 to the USAID International Food Aid Conference and opened with this story.

Being here in Kansas City, I can't help but think of a great American president, a gentleman by the name of Harry Truman. He spent many of his formative years on a farm. Even though his career took him away from his friends here in Kansas City and his home in Independence, he never really lost his plainspoken, down-to-earth qualities. One day, I am told, he was making a speech at the Washington Garden Club, and he kept referring to that "good old manure" that they used to fertilize their flowers. Now some of the high society women complained to his wife Bess and said, Couldn't you get the president to say "fertilizer," they asked. Mrs. Truman apparently replied, "Well, Heavens no. It took me 25 years to get him to say manure."

TK: Nice opening. It must be a challenge to tell a personal story or funny anecdote for every speech, but Johanns and his writers do their best. Here is the link to his speech, which defends the option of purchasing local food for food aid purposes in some cases instead of always using U.S. commodities.