Kerry ought to milk this one

The Saturday Chicago Tribune had a great article on a presentation made by the USDA's Larry Salathe on the agency's goals and objectives for 2004. Apparently, one of their goals was to win votes for President Bush in Wisconsin, Minnesota and other major dairy producing states by keeping milk prices artificially high. Which as you may guess is good for dairy farmers and bad for consumers like you and me. What's even more sinister, it seems Salathe promised the large dairy producers that the Bush administration would get around to squeezing those pesky small producers after the election, once their votes were already cast, that is -- by cutting aid to small dairies and even instituting a "small producer assessment" aka milk tax. This is a perfect opportunity for John Kerry to say to the people of Wisc. and Minn. that Bush is not good for their bottom lines, that he's plotting to squeeze them out of business in the second term, and that a milk tax isn't the answer to his lousy spending habits. Maybe he ought to trot out some little kid with a milk moustache.