The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has issued a must-read analysis of the SCHIP debate that reveals the emptiness of White House claims that we should put “poor kids first.” As it turns out, the SCHIP bill is structured to do just that, and the Bush administration’s policies are not (shocking!).

CBPP notes that the “poor kids” catchphrase was apparently constructed by a Republican pollster:

The White House is confident it will prevail. But a win for the president doesn’t erase the long-term challenge for Republicans to unify around a coherent message on health care, an issue on which Democrats — especially the party’s presidential candidates — have taken the lead.

By 57% to 31%, a majority of voters expressed more confidence in Democrats than Republicans on handling health-care and drug issues, according to a survey of 1,000 registered voters from David Winston, a Republican strategist and adviser to House Republican Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio). Among independents, the gap was wider: 63% to 19%. The numbers shifted when Mr. Winston tested the idea that Republicans will support CHIP but want to “put poor kids first” rather than expand coverage to adults, illegal immigrants and those already with insurance. Independents favored that message 47%-38%.

Shockingly enough, in the last few weeks, Boehner, Republican members of Congress, President Bush, and other administration officials have all invoked the poll-tested “poor kids first” catchphrase. Who cares if it makes no sense?