One of Newt Gingrich’s most recent criticisms of President Obama has been that he is “the food stamp president.” Gingrich contrasts this with his own plans for the presidency, in which he assures the GOP debate audiences he would be a “paycheck president.”

But since the 1950s, every president has been a food stamp president. Food stamps have long drawn strong support from Republicans as well as Democrats. For most of their history, in fact, food stamps have been as American– and as bipartisan – as apple pie.