Commentary

A skinless chicken breast in every pot

I know an army moves on its stomach, but I’m not sure about the electorate. According to this story Presidential candidate and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is taking his campaign to the Food Network to warn about the dangerous threat of childhood obesity. (Alas, the story is gated but it is short. Full text below) LITTLE ROCK (AP) – Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is taking his presidential campaign to an unlikely forum – the Food Network. Huckabee will be featured on the network Saturday night on a segment focusing on childhood obesity, his exploratory campaign announced Thursday. Huckabee, who lost more than 110 pounds after being diagnosed with diabetes, focused on children’s obesity during his term as governor and pushed for regular screenings of the body mass of school children. His campaign said Food Network producers traveled to Arkansas last fall to interview him about the state’s efforts to reduce the number of overweight children in the state. “While I was governor of Arkansas, we made great strides in addressing the dangers of childhood obesity,” Huckabee said. “Removing vending machines from elementary schools, conducting body-mass-index testing and working to increase physical activity in the schools has played a big part in increasing health awareness among children.” Huckabee, a Republican who left office in January, this year formed a presidential exploratory committee for the 2008 race. Well. Now, using the sovereign power of a state to police school vending machines is no doubt a burning issue at many PTA meetings across the country, but I’m not certain it is the kind of thing that qualifies one to become “leader of the free world.” No doubt the founding fathers had a more modest vision for the new form of government they were struggling to build. “Give me lean cuisine or give me death” isn’t exactly the kind of slogan to warm one’s soul during a winter at Valley Forge.