All the fat, none of the guilt: Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Conn., is a party pooper. She has introduced legislation that would require fast-food outlets and other restaurant chains to provide nutritional information on their menus. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is expected to sponsor a similar bill. We hope they fail.

We believe when people go to restaurants, they don't go to be reminded of how fattening the food is that they are about to eat. Folks don't order the CrËme Brulee at the Maisonette because they're counting calories. They want to enjoy the savory goodness. So let 'em!

The ubiquitous, black and white "Nutrition Facts" label is on everything from a bag of carrots to a can of Coke. It tells the carbs, grams of sodium and fat included in the foods we eat daily. It is useful in its place, but in restaurants, it would be more of a nuisance than anything.

To be clear, DeLauro's legislation would apply only to restaurant chains with 20 or more outlets. But who knows whether the movement would trickle down to the small diner catering to the neighborhood crowd? How intrusive.

With so many Americans overweight, obviously more of us need to watch what we eat. But don't punish restaurants for serving good food. If customers really want the information, a useful option might be posting nutrition information on menus on the Internet, which many restaurants do already.

For all the rest, who want to have their cake and eat it too, bon appetit.

Trail mix: Notes and quotes from the political campaigns

The Incredible Shrinking Primaries: A number of states have concluded that holding presidential primaries is pointless, as the front-runner usually has matters sewn up in the snows of New Hampshire. Kansas, Colorado and Utah already have canceled their 2004 primaries, and more may follow. As Washington Gov. Gary Locke, a Democrat who wants to dump his state's primary, puts it, "Why waste $7 million of scarce state money?"

Damage control: Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry, whose hopes for capturing the nomination have been quickly spiraling downward, explained last week's firings of his campaign manager and two senior staffers this way: "My campaign will be better off moving ahead with people who want to be there."

The Odd Couple, 2004 version: Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., are such close friends that reportedly Lieberman has offered McCain the post of secretary of defense should Lieberman become president. McCain's public response so far is coy: "As a naval grad who stood fifth from the bottom of his class, anything is possible in America."