Emphasis wrong?

John Stossel writes of Michelle Obama's attempts to persuade restaurants to serve smaller portions and "healthier" food:

"At least what Michelle is doing appears to be voluntary."

I would argue that the emphasis is on the wrong word:

"What Michelle is doing appears to be voluntary." As in, it really isn't. We've already seen that her husband is a firm believer in the (nonexistent) right of Washington to force us to do what it deems best for us, and that this belief extends to deciding what foods Americans will eat. The President joked around that his signing of the school lunch bill was part of maintaining marital bliss with the First Lady. Maybe he was joking, but the truth is that if restaurants don't do Mrs. Obama's bidding voluntarily, she can talk her husband into forcing them to serve food as she deems best. After all, it's not like he believes restaurateurs, or anybody else, have rights -- all they have are duties to other Americans (in this case, to keep us thin).

If Mrs. Obama were truly just an American citizen trying to get restaurateurs to adopt her cause by persuasive means alone, I would say have at it. But I don't believe for a second that that's what's really happening. This is "let me talk you into doing what I want" with an undertone of "or my husband will force you into doing what I want."