October 23, 2008 5:10PM # Damned With Faint Praise By [Sallie James](https://www.cato.org/people/sallie-james) --- SHARE Well, not faint exactly. Indeed, it is pretty hearty. But considering the source, I’m not sure it is an asset. In an [article](http://www.nationaljournal.com/congressdaily/cdp_20081023_6773.php) in today’s *Congress Daily*, key sugar lobby groups praised Senator Obama’s newfound enthusiasm for the U.S. sugar program. As a senator from the candy-making state of Illinois, he was none too fond of the price supports and import restrictions that raised input prices for factories in his state. Not anymore. In a letter to sugar groups, Senator Obama gave assurances that while he “has concerns” with the program, he would listen to and work with them to “reward \[their\] hard work with policies that will keep \[their\] industry and your communities strong”. Oh dear. One former lobbyist pointed out that “…the candidate now “represents a broader range of interest” than when he was a state legislator…\[and\] added that Obama has never voted against the sugar program and supported the 2008 Farm Bill.” McCain, on the other hand, would likely have lost the support of formerly Republican-leaning farmers because “…\[he\] has consistently opposed the program and agreed with President Bush’s decision to veto the Farm Bill.” Another lobbyist said that “Sen. McCain seems to want to radically alter \[the farm safety net\].” Considering the [woeful](http://www.freetrade.org/node/70) [sugar](https://www.cato.org/pubs/tbb/tbb_0607_46.pdf) [policies](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8381) of the United States, an honorable person should be ashamed to receive Big Sugar’s support. ##### Related Tags [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy), [Trade Policy](https://www.cato.org/trade-policy), [Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies](https://www.cato.org/herbert-stiefel-center-trade-policy-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).