On yer bike

There's no such thing as a cheap shot where George Bush is concerned, so it's easy to make fun of these proclamations that he issues as President, even though most of them are simply required by law and reflect little input from him. Of course he could absolve himself from them by citing the War on Terror but he seems to go through the motions. Nevertheless, we are in the week where he's likely to veto an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), so it's a tad embarrassing that he has to issue this proclamation --

The Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 18, 1928, as amended (36 U.S.C. 105), has called for the designation of the first Monday in October as "Child Health Day" and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 1, 2007, as Child Health Day. I call upon families, schools, child health professionals, faith-based and community organizations, and State and local governments to reach out to our Nation's young people, encourage them to avoid dangerous behavior, and help them make the right choices and achieve their dreams.

Note how the text is carefully calibrated to the responsibilities and choices of children and the consequences of their behaviour. He's been working these themes into the proclamation for a few years, but let's go all the way back to the first time he issued the proclamation in 2001, before the ideologues had time to work on it:

My Administration is strongly committed to supporting families and children in need and to improving our education system so that no child is left behind. Let us work together as individuals, families, communities, and Americans to ensure that the health of our children always remains a national priority. The Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 18, 1928, as amended (U.S.C. 105), has called for the designation of the first Monday in October as "Child Health Day" and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 1, 2001, as Child Health Day. On this day, and on every day throughout the year, I call upon families, schools, child health professionals, communities, and governments to dedicate themselves to fostering the healthy development and well-being of all our children -- especially those with special health care needs.

i.e. it's all about others can help children -- who after all, are faced with the circumstances given to them by their parents, and the choices made by people and politicians, but not the children themselves.

Such as being a child in a nominally middle class family that does not have health insurance. In the 2008 Child Health Day, that's the child's problem.

UPDATE: The veto is official. The lie-filled justification is here.