Huck passes buck on children's health

Gov. Huckabee -- who has made public health his signature issue -- last week sent a letter to Jo Nell Caldwell, chair of the Arkansas Board of Education, "strongly recommending" board passage of a package of recommendations developed by the Act 1220 Child Health Advisory Committee, which would then allow local school nutrition and physical activity committees to act on them. That means he is foregoing any role in passing the recommendations as state law.

Huckabee is leaning on the idea of local control to avoid mandating strict adherence to the recommendations. He says in the letter:

From a policy and a personal point of view, I believe in these recommendations, and I will work aggressively for their passage at the local level. But I also believe each community has a better understanding of its health and nutrition needs than the state does.

He says he "thinks each school district should pass the recommendations as they are written and take immediate steps to implement them," but he doesn't want them to "be construed as unfunded mandates."

He also says "the Arkansas Soft Drink Association has agreed to support local control regarding the implementation of the standards." Big surprise!

This whole approach strikes us as political pussy-footing. If Huckabee believes so strongly in the recommendations, thinking them crucial to the health of our children, why doesn't he try to do something about it, instead of passing the buck? He says in the letter, "The recommendations from the Act 1220 Child Health Advisory Committee can go a long way toward improving the quality of life for all children in Arkansas," but he doesn't want to take a stronger role in implementing them.

He knows that many school districts will decide to keep taking the money they get from soft-drink and vending machine sales. But hey, he sent along the recommendations. That's all he could do, right?