Give me a break. The first lady can't even grow a vegetable garden or warn of the dangers of childhood obesity without some Republican creep getting their nose out of joint or complaining about the excesses of government. To these old eyes the first lady is a strikingly gorgeous woman. She certainly has a lot of credibility when it comes to dietary counsel because she practices what she preaches, and whatever she is doing works well for her.

And we could all heed her admonition to eat less. Obesity is a huge drain on our tax dollars. It is my understanding that an alarming number of young people volunteering for military service recently were considered too fat to fight. So obesity is also a security concern as well.

I'll be more convinced that the first lady is out of order when someone complains who actually voted for her husband.

Paul R. Schlitz Jr. ,Baltimore