How can you not get behind something Elmo loves?

It's not perfect, but it's something

President Obama signed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act into law yesterday (Dec. 13).

It's likely too little money to dramatically change the quality of meals, but the real victory is in granting the Agriculture Secretary the right to limit what can be served in schools outside of the cafeteria. Be careful what you wish for, though. Control like that may not seem so wise if your guy isn't the one holding the regulatory power.

It's like a broken record: No matter the issue, conservatives want government to do nothing

A few trillion for tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans? No problem. 6¢ more per plate for a school lunch, adding up to a modest $4.5 billion spread out over ten years? "Get the government out!! No new taxes! Hey, count the ketchup!"

Mind-bogglingly narrow talking points are getting increasingly difficult to talk around. It has no nuance, no understanding of the complexities of making policy, and absolutely no clue for how the real economy works to turn healthy food into productive and well-educated, tax paying citizens. The worst part is every discussion now has to have that answer on the right. Makes me long for William F. Buckley! Conservatives of that stripe were at least intelligent and worthy foils for liberal thinking, helping to sharpen and provide nuance to progressive movements. Now all we have is this: