About That Broccoli Thing . . . : Vegetables: The President’s public declaration inspires a fifth-grade class to offer their opinions on the subject.

COSTA MESA — He could pretend to chew it but slip it to the dog under the table instead.

He could put it on his brother’s plate when Mom’s not looking.

He could politely ask to be excused, then flush it down the toilet.

Or, as leader of the free world, President Bush could do what he in fact did last week--claim executive privilege and just say no to broccoli.

In sympathy with a 65-year-old man’s finally breaking maternal orders to eat dreaded vegetables, fifth-graders at Whittier Elementary School here on Monday sent Bush their own advice about what to do with broccoli.

Meanwhile, California broccoli growers shipped 10 tons of raw florets to Washington (about 120 pounds to the White House and the rest to the Capitol City Community Food Bank) in an effort to feed the hungry and improve broccoli’s image, tarnished--or maybe enhanced--by Bush’s declaration of last Thursday:

“I do not like broccoli and I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it, and I’m President of the United States and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli.”

Like it or not, 20 of the 28 pupils in Sharon Ball’s class said they do eat broccoli at home. A mother-pleasing majority, 17, said they eat it because they “love it.” And some pointed out that there are many vegetables--such as spinach, onions and Brussels sprouts--that are even worse than broccoli.

But a fearless few said they would rather die.

“It tastes like grass,” said Lucina Aguilar, 11.

“I think broccoli is sick,” wrote Abel Rodriguez. “You should fill a spaceship with broccoli and send it to the sun.”

Others, hoping to find an ally in what had until now been a personal crusade, asked the President to pass laws banning broccoli.

“Your (sic) the president,” Juan Gutierrez reminds Bush. “You should make a Broccoli Bill of Rights. Or just like alcohol, ‘No Eating Broccoli and Driving.’ ”

Many of the children, recently targets of anti-drug programs, compared broccoli to drugs, illustrating their letters with a crayon drawing of the green stalk enclosed in a red circle with a line through it. One boy titled his drawing, “Broccoli Can Kill You!!!” Another drawing exhorted, “Dare to Keep Kids Off Broccoli.”

Jamie Rubel, 10, said his father tries in vain to trick him into eating broccoli by cutting it up and stirring it into the mashed potatoes. He included his father’s name, phone number and address in his letter and begged Bush to give the man a call. “Tell him, ‘Don’t make Jamie eat broccoli!’ Please!”

Some suggest Bush might outgrow his distaste for broccoli.

“I know how you feel,” wrote Reyna Estrada. “I don’t like it that much. My mom made me eat it when I was a little girl. Now I am 11 years old, and I enjoy eating it a lot.”

She suggested using salt and lemon and butter to enhance the flavor.

Other advice included eating broccoli with ranch dip, steaming it and serving it with soy sauce, and boiling it and eating it with mayonnaise.

But in a crunch--say at some formal dinner where he wouldn’t want to offend the state officials who mistakenly serve him broccoli--the President should resort to covert action, the children said.

“Say, ‘Oh no, I left something in the car. Then slip the broccoli in your pocket and throw it away,” advises Sharada Weil, 10. “Or you can slip it into your napkin on your lap. Wrap it up and when you leave, put the napkin in the plate.”

Sharada knows. “It works every time.”

Others had clearly bought their parents’ lines, and some, like Felix Bustos, 11, took a stern approach.

“Why do you not like broccoli? I like broccoli very much. Bush, broccoli is good for your health. I do in spelling very well. Write me back.”

In the end, though, the majority of pupils thought Bush should just hold his nose and eat what’s served him.

“He should obey his mother,” said Jessica Anaya, 11. “It’s good for him.”

BENEFITS OF BROCCOLI Broccoli is a good source of fiber. It has become popular over the past 10 years, during which U.S. consumption has increased 500%, according to broccoli growers. Overcooking is usually the reason such people as President Bush don’t like broccoli, growers say.

A half-cup serving of broccoli contains the following:

21 milligrams of calcium

.39 milligrams of iron

11 milligrams of magnesium

29 milligrams of phosphorous

143 milligrams of potassium

41 milligrams of ascorbic acid

(Vitamin C)

31.2 milligrams of Vitamin B6

678 international units of Vitamin A

40 calories

No cholesterol

No fat

Source: The United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Assn., Alexandria, Va.