Attack of the baby kissers.

• Position: Congressional Republicans' proposed draconian social spending cuts

The Republican budget-cutters and their allies in congress are having a little public-relations problem. Slashing the federal school-lunch program isn't proving as popular with Americans as all that tough rhetoric about cutting taxes. It's one thing to talk about putting government on a diet, but it's something else to tell poor children they can't have lunch.

Newt Gingrich to the rescue. The House Speaker showed up at an urban grade-school recently to hand out books and rub elbows with teachers and students. Newspaper photos show Gingrich leering at a group of African-American children at Moten Elementary School in Washington, D.C. It was a media stunt reminiscent of George Bush's grandstanding with toddlers at a Head Start center, even as he refused to fully fund the Head Start program.

Whenever politicians go on a baby-kissing binge, watch out. The urge to pose with children is a good indication that our political leaders have reached some nadir of cynicism and hypocrisy.

Besides demonstrating his warm and fuzzy side, Newt gave poor kids at Moten Elementary a lesson in bottom-line Republican values.

"Baseball players go on strike to get more money, and rock stars sing to make money," The New York Times reported Gingrich as saying, "and we want you to work at learning how to read so well that some day you can earn a very good living."

With that, Gingrich kicked off his program to give kids at the school $2 for every book they read. He told reporters he wants to help adjust the attitudes of poor kids by getting them to learn for the purpose of making money: "It means that in public housing, you suddenly legitimize every second- and third-grader carrying books. You change the culture," Gingrich said.

Learning to work for bribes might be useful these days on Capitol Hill, but it's a cheap and demeaning approach to education. And Gingrich's lesson adds insult to injury for poor kids who may no longer receive free or reduced school meals thanks to the Republicans.

Maybe if they manage to read a couple of books a day, they can afford lunch.

The Republicans and their lobbyists are changing Tour culture all right. They are busy recalculating the cash value of every social good and liquidating government programs right and left. The big losers in this numbers game are poor people, many of them children, who lack money and political clout, and who depend on programs the Republicans are slashing.

Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and...