The Wall Street Journal reports that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and likely 2012 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee both defended Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign against conservative criticism on Sunday talk shows yesterday:
"What Michelle Obama is proposing is not that the government tells you that you can't eat dessert," Mr. Huckabee said. Rather, the first lady wants Americans "to recognize that we have a serious obesity crisis — which we do," Mr. Huckabee said.
Recently, prominent voices on the right including Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh have criticized the antiobesity efforts. They say it's a sign of overbearing government.
… Mr. Huckabee said many young people can't pass the physical necessary to join the military.
"That's serious," he said. "This is no longer just a health issue [or] an economic issue. It's becoming an issue of national security."
Mr. Christie, appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," said criticism of the first lady's campaign is "unnecessary."
… "I struggled with my weight for 30 years," Mr. Christie said Sunday. "If a kid can avoid that … more power to them and I think the first lady is speaking out well."
Are these guys beginning to pick their battles in preparation for 2012? Or are they making an honest effort to increase civility in politics? Either way, it's tempting to be touched by these statements of support … until you remember how absurd it is that encouraging children to be healthy was ever controversial in the first place.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal.
In other news: Equatorial Guinea: Dictator's Son Orders $380 Million Luxury Yacht.
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