Cookie Monsters

You can't get through a week these days without seeing some pundit revive the accusation that Democrats once bombarded Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele, a black Republican now running for the Senate, with oreo cookies. The charge is pretty dubious, to judge from reports filed by Andy Green in the Baltimore Sun and Gadi Dechter in the Baltimore City Paper, and Steele himself says merely that he saw "one or two" cookies on the floor near his feet. But the story is politically useful, especially now that Republicans have learned to play the victimization game as capably as any differently abled lesbian of color.

All of which is just my excuse to link to a peculiar piece of cultural history. It comes from Vegetable Soup, a mid-'70s kids' show produced by the New York State Education Department. And it's…um, just watch it. If activists did toss an oreo or two Steele's way, it might be because they saw too much PBS when they were little.