If only the country's schoolchildren could have been privy to the back-room deals and horse trading that finally made it all happen. Now that would be a real civics lesson!

In addition to lavishing billions of dollars in subsidies and direct payments on farmers -- at a time when crop and commodity prices are at record levels -- the bill includes large increases in food stamp spending while easing eligibility for the handouts.

Then there's the $405 million to clean up pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, the continued ethanol subsidies, tax breaks for timber companies and even for race horse owners -- the latter being especially important to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Republican from Kentucky.

You know, the Bluegrass State. Home of Churchill Downs.

All in all, the measure will set taxpayers back a modest $290 billion over the next five years. That's only $10 billion more than congressional budget committees had allocated last year.

A bargain by any definition.

Not surprisingly, Congress rejected a White House proposal to cap handouts to wealthy farmers.

The bill does include a provision that would eventually phase out payments to rich folks who make only a small portion of their income off of farming. But it contains no limit whatsoever to how much wealthy farmers can soak up from taxpayers.

Last year, the Bush administration made that a hill to die for, threatening to veto any legislation that failed to limit payments to farmers who earn more than $200,000 a year. It's as good an excuse as any to put this monstrosity out of its misery -- and force the congressional piggies to go on the record with an override vote.