When lawmakers indulge: McCain digs In-N-Out; Levin craves cookies

While first lady Michelle Obama might like to chow down on 1,700-calorie meals from Shake Shack (where on Monday she reportedly ordered a ShackBurger, fries, chocolate shake and a Diet Coke), other lawmakers have their own guilty pleasures.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) says she melts for cones from both Scruffy’s Ice Cream Parlor in Middleburg, Va., and the Hershey’s Ice Cream store in Georgetown. 

When ITK inquired about her favorite flavor, the senior senator gave a decidedly diplomatic answer: “I like them all, unfortunately.” But when pressed, Landrieu admitted, “I guess coffee would be my favorite. Or cookies-and-cream.”

While Landrieu sticks to sweets, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is all about the beef: “My favorite is, I hate to say it — I don’t know who I’m going to harm here — is probably In-N-Out Burger.” McCain, who added he’ll take a regular ol’ hamburger over a cheeseburger, can kiss any potential Burger King endorsements goodbye.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) reveals that she has an “interesting diet” — consisting of perhaps the least bad-for-you items imaginable — Melba toast, salad and yogurt. (Melba toast? Really?) Yet Snowe does cop to a weakness for baklava (saying Greek food is “her passion”) and licorice. And the lawmaker says she gets the first lady’s burger run: “I can understand why [Michelle Obama] would like that,” she said, before adding with a smile, “but I don’t exercise like she does. If I did that, I might be in a different place.”

At first, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) adamantly denied any favorite treat, laughing as he pointed to his stomach, “Guilty pleasure? I don’t have any, as you can see.” But he finally gave up the goods on the goodies he prefers: “Cookies. Chocolate chip.” When questioned whether he likes a glass of milk with those cookies, Levin, 77, exclaimed, “No! That was my former guilty pleasure about 70 years ago.” Cookies minus the milk are apparently considered a much more mature indulgence.

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