First lady Michelle Obama’s plans to push healthy food choices on participants in the White House’s annual Easter Egg Roll went awry, as children — fueled by the pro-spaghetti book she read them — voiced scant preference for peas.
Red Alert Politics said Mrs. Obama’s big mistake was reading a staffer’s choice of book that hadn’t been fully vetted. The title alone should have given a warning, though: “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.” It’s a fanciful story of snack foods and unhealthy fare — such as hamburgers and pancakes, the kind the first lady warns about — that fall from the sky.
Mrs. Obama, who had hoped to use the Easter egg event as a chance to promote her healthy eating and Let’s Move! initiatives, wrapped her reading and rushed to backtrack the story’s message, Red Alert Politics reports.
“Let’s just say it’s eat your vegetables,” she said. “That’s the moral of the story.”
But Red Alert Politics reports that when asked for their favorites, the children answered nonetheless: “Ice cream” and “candy.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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