Health group to Obama: You should really issue an executive order banning yourself from junk food

Heh. If I thought the White House would actually pay any heed to this, I’d almost call it poetic justice. The Hill reports:

A healthcare advocacy group run by physicians is preparing to file a petition calling on President Obama to stop eating hamburgers, hot dogs and other unhealthy foods before cameras.

“As role model to millions of Americans, the president has a responsibility to watch what he eats in public,” said Susan Levin, nutrition education director with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). …

Levin said in a statement that processed meats like hot dogs “kill more Americans every year than tobacco does, and they cost taxpayers billions of dollars in healthcare.” …



“The White House would never set up a photo op showing the president buying cigarettes, so why is it okay to show him eating a hot dog?” she added. …

PCRM’s petition asks the White House to issue an executive order barring the president, the first family, the vice president and all members of the Obama cabinet from eating foods in public “that can cause cancer and obesity.”

The group cites the study out earlier this week posturing that 42 percent of Americans will be obese by 2030, as well as another study showing that processed meats can increase the risk of premature death, as justification for asking the president to put on an all-carrot-sticks, all-the-time public persona. C’mon, now — no foods that ‘can cause cancer and obesity’? I’m pretty sure that eating enough of any food will make you fat and sick. It’s about moderation, which is one of the (few) things for which I would not fault President Obama. For the record, I wouldn’t normally presume to comment on the POTUS’s personal appearance, but he’s clearly a relatively healthful and slender guy, and treating his staff or visiting diplomats to a fun meal really shouldn’t be the subject of public outcry.

…Shouldn’t be, but meddlesome, nannying, I-know-better-than-you-do political interference can be a two-way street. So, while from an objective standpoint I do think this is a ridiculous request from these physicians, ObamaCare is going to make me financially liable for the health-related decisions of my neighbor. With such an unprecedented level of federal intrusion swiftly coming at us, I think President Obama both invited and legitimized this type of intensely personal, busybody scrutiny. (Not to mention, the FLOTUS has made it her personal mission to use both taxpayer money and government authority to subvert local and parental responsibilities with her “Let’s Move!” campaign, while sometimes demonstrating a less-than-perfect diet of her own.) Sorry, buddy, but you did this to yourself.