Undergrowth in America's Garden...

So Michelle Obama has written a book about gardening.  She has been vocal about children's health and obesity rates.  One would think such an issue pretty uncontroversial.  We don't want to have kids becoming overweight, leading to health issues of high blood pressure and cholesterol, which themselves lead to major disease of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.  Since we know that diet can significantly affect the course of a person health, why shouldn't she focus on eating healthily?  If we learn these habits early, they can lead to a longer, better quality of life.

Gardening, something I did just this morning, is a perfect way to address these concerns as well as engaging all the senses. Planting a personal garden is exercise, artistic expression (it's always lovely when planting beautiful leaves and flowers, can you say stress relief?), and sustenance providing. All First Ladies pick a Ms America-type platform. Mrs. Obama's is something that I personally believe, practice, and proselytize about to anyone who will listen: healthily eating and growing your own food, as organically as possible.

But as usual, there's always people who have a problem:

Commenter: …then perhaps she should go over to her husbands native land, and teach them how to grow food. What's it been now: 6 thousand years, and those peeps still don't know how to prosper? 

Commenter: I wonder what Michelle's garden is costing the taxpayer. 

Commenter: So if her intensions are so altruistic, then there would be rush to publish this months before re-election. The timing makes everything suspect. Do the Obama's do anything other than campaign? 

Commenter: If she is concerned about obese children, she should work on reducing the mass of that huge rear. Wow, that is one big butt. The gym is calling! 

Commenter: Whats with the Garden thing??? STOP!!!!!!!!! Go to the grocery store. 

Commenter: Or subtitled...American Grown, Kenyan Born 

Commenter: As for her little garden book - who cares? But, being of generations of Washingtonians myself, I feel Mrs Obama's trying to be too "down home" to plant a large veggie garden on the White House lawn and it's disrespectful and worse to profit from a book about it.
Mrs obama has always seemed like an angry woman… 

Commenter: The President and his wife should always use judgement and have class. It's what I dislike about Mrs Obama's huge veggie garden planted on the White House lawn. It's way too "down home" and inappropriate in my opinion.  

Michelle Obama, as the president's wife, should dress according to her position. When she doesn't, it's embarrassing to many Americans.  

I'll be glad when the current "refugee-just-off-the-boat" look has run it's course too.