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Sweet, Crunchy Candidates Vie For Your Vote

Photos courtesy of the Children's Better Health Institute

From left: Celery Clinton, Broccoli Obama and John McCantaloupe.

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By MARY SHEDDEN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 23, 2008

Election season just got uglier. Candidates are calling one another out, using terms like "tart" and "low-hanging fruit."

And in the pages of a children's magazine no less!

The publishers of Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty's Magazine and Children's Digest are using the high-profile human presidential races to promote their passion for nutrition with online elections for the nation's best fruit and vegetable. The tongue-in-cheek race plays off the real candidates:

Looking for change? How about Broccoli Obama, with his 41 mg of vitamin C in a half-cup serving?

Need something crunchy when that 3 o'clock craving hits? Vote for Celery Clinton. She offers fiber, vitamin A and potassium.

Want a leader ripe with experience? Then John McCantaloupe's the choice for you.

"The main focus is to get kids interested in nutrition and healthy eating," says Daniel Lee, editor of Jack and Jill.

Primary voting for the top fruit and top vegetable will take place by mail and online at www.veggiefruitelection.com through July 24. Once primary votes are announced, kids up to age 12 can decide who they want to win the general election by voting until Nov. 4 - the same day as the human general election.

Lee says initial fruit bowl results show Wally Watermelon leading the race, with Sarah Strawberry and Hannah Banana in second and third respectively. McCantaloupe, by the way, is the one claiming candidate Granny Apple is "too tart to be elected."

"We'll end up with several thousand votes before we're done, hopefully giving kids a healthy respect for their diet and the electoral process," Lee says.

On the vegetable tray, results show Spud Potato in the lead, with Broccoli Obama and Carrot Giuliani close behind. The No. 4 candidate - Cherri Tomato - is "stewing" after the Alliance for Truth in Vegetables accused her of being a fruit and not a vegetable. And don't count Celery Clinton out; she's best at crunch time, Lee says.

"We'd also like to point out to your readers that in our election, Florida votes will be counted."

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