By tradition, though not by any known rules of grammar, "Goo-Goo" is short for "good government", referring to legislation which is hoped to have the effect of making the government do a better job of serving the people, and more importantly, showing the public that the legislators are busy making the government be good.
It occurs to me today that there is also such a thing as "bad government" legislation, which is intended to show the public that the legislators are aware that the government is bad and must be punished.
"Boo-Goo" laws are produced from both left and right. Conservatives' favorite Boo-Goo is tax cuts, but another classic example is the Freedom of Information Act.
Frequently, Boo-Goo measures are also Goo-Goo -- see FOIA above. And frequently they actually have good effects (ditto). But let's not kid ourselves that such laws are ever entirely written to serve the public interest.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Who watches the watchmen?"\\
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