Yesterday San Francisco supervisors held a hearing to consider enacting a law that would ban restaurants in the city from giving away toys in kids meals that are deemed unhealthy.
Noting the debate in a September 27 "Notebook" post at her Couric & Co. blog, the "Evening News" anchor followed the typical liberal media bias recipe for stories like these.
First Katie presented the struggle as one between good government and greedy corporations:
The bill would affect all San Francisco restaurants, but it's clearly aimed at fast food chains. McDonald's argues parents should decide what their kids should eat...not the government. But the toys are luring the tots...not the food.
Notice common sense and personal/responsibility are left out of the equation. Kids who can't reach the gas pedal let alone drive a car are "lured" to McDonald's by Happy Meal toys? Parental responsibility must be no match for the addictive power of chincy plastic toys!
Next Katie played the "crisis" card to justify an overbearing government response:
One out of every three American kids and teens is overweight or obese. Among minorities, it's even worse. A healthy diet at an early age can help prevent diseases like diabetes or high blood pressure.
Finally, Katie held out the idea as just plain common sense:
I'm not sure it requires a law, but getting that toy in exchange for some carrots or apple slices...sounds like a pretty happy meal for parents and children alike.
Okay, so Couric's wasn't an outright endorsement of the law, but she offered token resistance to the idea. Sure, it probably doesn't "require" a law, Katie argues, but it's a policy that citizens should be "happy" to swallow.
