Mike Huckabee Sides with Michelle Obama Against Sarah Palin
Huckabee believes that Palin is "misunderstood" about Mrs. Obama's intentions. He argued that Michelle Obama was not trying to force people to only eat a certain way, but that she was merely trying to address a nationwide epidemic.
On TLC's "Sarah Palin's Alaska," Mrs. Palin had disparaged Obama's nationwide efforts to combat obesity in children, arguing that parents, not politicians, should have the right to make their own decisions for their children.
Huckabee asked audiences to look at their third-grade pictures and compare them with current third-graders as testament to the growing problem of obesity. He also argued that obesity has led to staggering health care costs and a decreasing number of people who are fit to serve in the military. The audio of Mike Huckabee's arguments is available at WisePolitics.com.
Mike Huckabee Sides with Michelle Obama Against Sarah Palin: Defenders of Michelle Obama
And many agree with Huckabee and Obama against Palin. Rober J. Elisberg at Huffington Post commented that Palin's grievances were "equivalent of complaining that Anne Hathaway saved a baby panda."
The Huffington Post writer also cited hypocrisy on Palin's part for calling out Michelle Obama, but not equivalently criticizing Laura Bush for promoting literacy or "complaining about Hootie Owl telling kids to Give a hoot, don't pollute.'" He also cited a number of Republicans who were becoming disenchanted with Mrs. Palin.
Mike Huckabee Sides with Michelle Obama Against Sarah Palin: Defenders of Sarah Palin
Yet Palin has her defenders as well. David Harsanyi at Town Hall argued that although obesity was a growing epidemic, Obama was sacrificing local control and parental choice in regulating which foods were appropriate for bake sales, PTA functions, and local school cafeterias. He cited the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act as an example of how the government doesn't trust parents to care for their own children.
The Town Hall writer also argued that Huckabee's motives for justifying "intrusive legislation" and "alarmism" were largely driven by his own experiences as a formerly obese man.
The writer also invoked the classic slippery slope argument by asking, "If Huckabee believes there's nothing wrong with the federal government controlling local school lunches and instituting national smoking bans, how many issues will he believe are more important than federalism?"
Mike Huckabee Sides with Michelle Obama Against Sarah Palin: Both Sides
Both sides makes compelling points. The idealistic part of me sympathizes with the Town Hall writer in not wanting the government to dictate everyday choices such as diet and exercise. Such nationwide regulations are an infringement on states' rights and parental choices. Parents, not legislators, should have the responsibility of encouraging children to eat right.
On the other hand, Huckabee also made a valid point about how obesity leads to rising health care costs, which we may end up paying for anyway. And I've seen a lot of parents who continually reward their kids with fast food and "punish" them with vegetables, despite knowing that they are enabling poor dietary choices in the process.
Do we want a nationwide campaign against obesity, even if it means loss of parental and individual control? Or do we give priority to individual and state sovereignty at the risk of increased obesity and looming health care costs? This may be an issue of choosing the lesser of two evils and picking your poison.
Sources:
Mike Huckabee Backs Michelle Obama Against Sarah Palin, WisePolitics.com
Sarah Palin: America's Whine-O, Huffington Post
Actually, Huck, It's Palin Who Gets It, Town Hall
Published by Tina Molly Lang - Featured Contributor in Arts & Entertainment and Lifestyle
Tina Molly Lang is a violinist, violin, piano, and voice teacher. She is also an active writer. Her work has been published in The American Thinker, Active Americans, Yahoo's OMG! and Yahoo News. View profile
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3 Comments
Post a CommentIs it right for government to be telling us what we can and not eat. No it is not right. But the fact is this nation has a huge obesity problem that is going to cripple our economy. Michelle Obama may be going to far when she stated, no dessert, but on the other hand, as a nation, we are going to have to make some tough choices, and the biggest obstacle for Americans is going to be changing our lifestyle.
I believe the health care can be solved. It will not be by the government, and it will not be solved by the current political leaders on either side. It is going to have to come from Training Professionals within the fitness industry.
As a Training professional myself, I believe is it my responsibility to help this nation become "fit" again.
I have absolutely no problem with Michelle Obama trying to combat obesity in children. As a matter of fact, I think it is a good thing that she is doing. Providing more awareness about this problem and encouraging people to eat right and exercise is a good thing. Her heart is in the right place. However, I did not like her condescending tone when she stated that parents would have to stop giving kids dessert, and that dessert is "not a right." Come on! This is America and people have a right to eat what they want and raise their children the way they want. I don't mean this to be disrespectful, and I do appreciate her efforts. But please do not tell people how to raise their own children!
I say put the priority on individual and state sovereignty, and then get an educational campaign out there to educate the American public on the problems with obesity and provide encouragement to avoid it.