Yesterday, I noted that HotAir blogger Howard Portnoy cropped Michelle Obama's comment that military leaders have called childhood obesity a national security threat to omit the fact that Obama specifically cited military leaders when making her claim. HotAir subsequently updated the post to include the full context of Michelle Obama's remarks, but nonetheless questioned whether or not military leaders actually said that.

In fact, if they read my full post -- which they said they were responding to -- they would see that, yes, in fact, military leaders have said that childhood obesity is a national security threat. More than 100 of them.

To refresh, Portnoy, using the cropped quote, attacked the first lady for making a “disingenuous” and “idiotic statement” about childhood obesity being a “national security threat.”

HotAir later updated the post, noting Obama's full quote and stating (emphasis added):

Media Matters is pitching a fit over Howard's editing of the quote that skipped over Mrs. Obama's reference to military leaders as the source of the argument. However, Howard didn't write that the First Lady made the argument up herself; he called the assertion “questionable,” which given the numbers is a supportable and reasonable argument. I'll assume that those military leaders who called this a national-security issue made just as idiotic an assertion in Howard's eyes, if in fact they did.

"If in fact they did?" No, really, HotAir -- they did. As ABC News reported:

Unhealthy school lunches pose a threat to national security, according to a group of retired military leaders.

Leaving 27 percent of young adults “too fat to fight,” childhood obesity is jeopardizing military recruitment, according to a report released Tuesday by the non-profit group Mission: Readiness.

The 130-plus retired military leaders making up the organization is joining together to battle the obesity epidemic on the school front.

If HotAir has a problem with this, they should really take it up with these “130-plus retired military leaders” -- not Michelle Obama. I look forward to a future HotAir post calling them out as disingenuous and idiotic over their assertion.