Big Hollywood's Hudnall cooks up silly attack: Michelle Obama's appearance "sullied the garden" at Food Network

From Hudnall's November 9 BigHollywood.com post:

by James Hudnall

I have a confession to make. I hate politics. That's why I write about it, because I enjoy making fun of it. And one of the reasons I write for Big Hollywood is I am sick of other people's politics being jammed down my throat through alleged "entertainment."

So for many years I found escape on TV in the Food Network, because aside from the fact I like food and cooking, I loved that it was a politics-free zone. There was no angry Bush bashing, no digs at Cheney and Rumsfeld. No moral equivalency. No screaming about the 2000 election. It was all about the joy of food and cooking and how it brings people together.

In a world so divided, it was a reminder that we can all get along if we can find some common ground.

I'm sure the chefs and personalities on the network have their political views. The fact that so many of them are based in New York would suggest most lean Democrat. But the beauty of that network is never, ever does anyone let on where their politics lie. We don't need to know who they voted for because that has nothing to do with food. It's not relevant. And that made it a refreshing place to be.

Notice I say "made." Someone has sullied the garden and brought their politics in, and turned a popular show into an infomercial for one of her causes.

Michelle Obama, perhaps jealous of her husband's constant face time on TV, has decided to start injecting herself in other people's shows. First it was the Biggest Loser which aired the night Dems got their teeth kicked in in some major races. (irony ahoy)

Now she's about to appear on the Food Network. And not just any show, the most popular show. Iron Chef America. And not just appear, nope. I'll let the NY Times explain it.

In a collision of politics, cooking and popular culture, Michelle Obama will reveal the secret ingredient that the chefs must use in their televised cook-off: anything that grows in the White House garden (no further spoilers here, though). Mrs. Obama will also talk about her crusade to reduce childhood obesity through better school lunches, community gardens, farmers' markets and exercise, which around the White House has the working title Healthy Kids Initiative.

The first lady's cameo on "Iron Chef" is the latest example of her willingness to get her message across to the public in ways few of her predecessors would have considered.

Now, I can understand how she might want to be first ladylike and push her pet agenda, just as previous first ladies tackled such things as literacy and drug abuse. I also can't blame the Food Network for wanting to have the First Lady on their show. It has to be good for ratings (or maybe it would have been six months ago, this airs in January. Oops!). The problem is, the Food Network is the last place I expected to see scolds talking about taking away snack [sic] from kids and making them broccoli. This is the place that celebrates pork fat, butter and sugar. It's a haven from the Food Nazis who want us all to live on a diet of rice cakes and rain water.

The Obama Administration has been hostile to agriculture. From refusing to send water to California's San Joaquin valley farmers to bills that would limit your rights as a home gardener. This while they are promoting "organic gardening."

The Obamas love to stick their face everywhere, I'm sure the Cartoon Network and the Fishing Channel are next. The one place we probably won't see them is the Military Channel. He'll probably need more time to think about that.

Anyway, as a citizen I am lodging my protest. I don't want the Food Network politicized. I don't want the Obama administration starting to dictate diets to people there. What's next, they put Paula Dean on a soy and rice milk diet? Enough!