Posted on 01/05/2012 7:42:24 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
As if Newt Gingrich doesn’t have enough problems after his disappointing fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses under a barrage of blistering attack ads, here’s one more to consider: his weight.
Compared to his primary rivals, the erstwhile Republican front-runner is, well, pudgy. If Mitt Romney is a human Ken doll, then Mr. Gingrich is more of a mini-Stay Puff marshmallow man. And in an image-conscious, fat-obsessed nation that hasn’t elected a truly hefty commander-in-chief since President William Howard Taft in 1909, that may be a serious — and seriously underappreciated — political liability.
Call it unfair, call it shallow — but according to obesity experts and a preponderance of sociological research, a powerful current of anti-fat bias runs through American life, influencing everything from cultural attitudes to workplace outcomes.
The ballot box is no exception: Heavyset candidates face a battle of the bulge.
Once upon a time - specifically, before the advent of television, late-night talk show monologues, P90X and “The Biggest Loser” — weight had minimal bearing on politics. Mr. Taft and his size 54 waist could win the White House and subsequently install an extra-large bathtub in the White House to little fanfare; 260-pound President Grover Cleveland could shrug off a tactless visitor remarking, “Well, you’re a whopper!” without enduring a heaping helping of public scorn.
That was then.
When bulky New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie contemplated a presidential run last September, “The View” co-host Joy Behar cracked a Krispy Kreme doughnut joke, then cited Mr. Taft and stated, “I don’t think the country’s ready for a fat president again.”
Impolitic as she was, the daytime gabstress was hardly alone in her sentiment: Dozens of pundits and news articles questioned Mr. Christie’s literal fitness for office, as did a broadcast segment on ABC News.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
I’ll tell you right now, I would never vote for a fatso because they have no discipline whatsoever.
I think Republicans in general are hungry enough for change that they will overlook just about any liability, that isn’t criminal in nature, if the candidate in question has the right message and he is credibly delivering it.
Well, Michelle will not vote for him. She’s leading the fight against obesity. Me, I don’t care so very much; we all struggle with weight. Just leave me ALONE.
In over-weight America, I ponder the actual negativity of a slightly over-weight politician or conservative personality such as Rush, for example.
Only the self-righteous libbies buy into ‘obesity is a World Problem.’
Wrong...I don’t hate anyone. I just think Gingrich is a prevaricating, undisciplined phony.
It doesn’t bother me, unless they are can’t-sit-in-a-theatre fat, where they are sort of immobilized by it.
I don’t think it’s a matter of ‘discipline,’ I don’t think Newt or Taft or Christie or for that matter Ted Kennedy had/has a discipline problem. Obviously they are/were all type A super overachievers. They just aren’t focused on their weight and I frankly don’t like people who are.
It's a damn good thing the Brits didn't share your inane philosophy.
Interesting comment.
Totally out of line with the message on your home page, however.
In these sad days of an ill-informed, disinterested, and illiterate electorate, glam is a key component of electability. (Sadly so, I must add.)
Mister Gingrich's weight does not appear to the extra cookie kind; no, it's the lack of self control kind. (I have no way of knowing, but I'd wager this is true).
All of Gingrich's election issues seem to be due to poor decisions and choices; and his weight merely frames the issue for opposition commercials.
I Corinthians 3:17 “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are”.
Not out of line at all.
Newt, fat, big-boned, whatever, is not— let’s say, photogenic.
That’s a problem. I’d say it will turn off 5%.
I have concerns about Newt. His physical shape isn’t one of them. My main concern is that he’s going to have WTF moments as a candidate and/or as president like he did as speaker and after. For that matter, Chris Christie is an even fatter beast than Newt, and that’s not the concern I have with him. My main concern with Chris is that inside him, there’s a skinny Northeast Republican trying to get out.
Will anti-fat bias affect the 2012 election?
Uhhh....yeah.
Manchelle’s gonna get her fat ass booted out in 2012. (and, she’ll take “bath-house Barry” with her.
Or did you manage to forget that one?
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