President Bush’s accolades for tech-savvy grocers didn’t earn him a lot of points with reporters or the general public. When he seemed amazed by bar-code scanning technology at a 1992 National Grocers Association convention, reporters and editorial writers swiftly pounced, since the technology was widely used in stores at the time. Fair or not, the moment was used to portray Bush as out-of-touch with ordinary people’s lives. It was good for more than a few laughs on comedy shows. But the GOP wasn’t amused to think an unfortunately timed, off-hand remark might have contributed to Bush’s loss to Bill Clinton in 1992.