Is skinniness a campaign issue?
By Steve Benen Thursday Jul 31, 2008 5:00pmIt’s easy to rail against the political media’s fascination with trivia, but the frustration often misses the mark. Some reporting on human-interest stories relating to presidential candidates is normal; news outlets aren’t going to be all-substance, all-the-time. Adding some trivia to the mix can help make coverage of the campaign, for lack of a better word, “lively.”
The problem is when the media treats trivia as if it were serious. I don’t mind frivolous reporting, so much as I mind when news outlets pretend it isn’t frivolous reporting.
The media covered John Edwards’ haircuts as if they were important. Reporters scrutinized Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits and cleavage as if they were legitimate subjects of journalistic inquiry. Questions about lapel pins have actually managed to make their way, not only into the media’s coverage of the campaign, but into nationally televised debates.
And as of today, we're actually supposed to believe that Barack Obama's "low body fat" is an important campaign issue in 2008.
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simple answers to simple questions: No.
We're in two wars, the economy sucks, and 76% say the country is on the wrong track. And the WSJ dedicates 1,400 words to whether Obama is too skinny to be elected in an overweight nation.
I can smell the desperation from here!
Who here has had lots of experience as a speaker in front of a large group?
I have. And I can tell you that I (and others I know) are very much aware of details, such as, cut of a suit, tie, shirt, haircut, body fat. Don't know about cleavage.
You think Obama or Hillary is oblivious to his or her projection?
I suppose William Taft would be Rupert Mudoch's WSJ idea of an ideal presidential candidate, except for his brand of Republicanism.
Heaviest President ever weighing in at over 300 pounds
http://www.classroomhelp.com/lessons/Presidents/taft.html
Of course, the WSJ would hardly approve of his trust busting or approach to foreign policy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft
I see this media minefield and wonder, how in the hell did Chimpy get elected—not once but twice?
He's a stumbling, bumbling retard who butchers the English language and struts around like he rules the universe. Someone who--without his family's money and connections--would be pumping gas. In short, a complete and total international embarrassment.
This country should be ashamed of itself.
VietVet8666 @ 4:
So Obama should adopt the diet and sloth-like, sedentary, couch potato lifestyle that has turned Americans into obese, unhealthy lard-asses?
Does that mean we can make fun of McCain for having a gimpy arm and a combover?
Just another way of saying he's not one of us, he went to the gym instead of visiting the troops, he eats arugula and asks for orange juice instead of coffee.
Love this graphic on the WSJ story:
http://s.wsj.net/media/WSJ_THIN_080108.jpg
If Americans will only vote for someone who looks like them, Obama has no chance. Apparently to succeed...you need to be greasy, moronic, loud, sloppy and obese.
What a place.
Because of this silliness today I learned that I am three inches taller than McCain. I had no idea that he was only 5'7''.
Yeah, in some respects looks might matter but Sen. Obama's looks haven't mattered to thousands and thousands and thousands of people. I shall refrain from making comments on Sen. McCain's looks, out of respect.
Don't even start on what being skinny is all about 'cause I have dealt with it all my life. Some of us are prone to being skinny and there isn't a damned thing we can do about it.
jwf at 6
No. Of course not.
The Truth Hurts @ 5:
The press were tired of boring, sensible old Al Gore and liked the fiery spark in Dubya's eyes. Only now, in retrospect, are some of them are realizing it was actually a mad apocalyptic gleam.
Widespread @ 7:
Don't forget the scars, wrinkles, liver spots and yellow teeth.
You'd think that this would be a positive. Obama has a healthy lifestyle, and as a leader, this could be projected to a fat and lazy country.
Of course the pundits can use this as another way to say he is not like normal people, he is actually doing something good for himself and his family.
I'm waiting for my husband to return home from the gym right now. He too does not drink coffee and drinks oj instead. Oh my goodness, maybe my husband is getting "too fit".
Obama should reflect American values, and cut a diseased, obese figure. Otherwise he's just to exotic.
There's enough of me here to make two good Presidents and a fair sized V.P. Guess I'm overqualified for the job.
Boxers or briefs? Paper or plastic? The ProfitMedia: working hard to make itself irrelevant.
Obama might be too slender to be POTUS!?
So it must be okay to bring up McKeating's age, right?
Or talk about McKeating's mentor, Charles Keating?
"BTW Senator McKeating, how did you get the nickname "Songbird" and what is a "wet start?"
Why do Republicans hate the fine people at the MET-RX Protein Bar factory so much? They're GOOD PEOPLE, with kids, and dogs 'n stuff!
(But I'll grant you, it's a good way to distract from the story about how that 'terrorist' anthrax was actually sent around by a U.S. Army scientist. And no, I don't believe he committed suicide before the case went to trial.)
shaggles @ 8:
If this is the criteria, he's definitely one of me. And frankly, I'm proud that I don't resemble a fat ass American.
Unlike the Dems, I won't run from the label, "elitist." Hell, I embrace it.
VietVet8666 @ 12:
No sarcasm, but could you clarify your point? I realize at this level of politics that the candidates are carefully screened and their appearance vetted by their staffs, but how can he modify his body type?
Let's see...Obama is too fit because he makes me feel fat. He's an elitist because he was too good of a student at Harvard and too successful too soon. Yeah, I really want someone who's just not that bright of an elitist...you know, maybe a third term for GW would suit me better!!
Yeah. Right!
dothehop @ 15:
The fact that these questions were even asked, tells me the MSM enjoys being as juvenile as McCain's most recent ads. They want to stir up something that isn't even there. What next, is McCain's white skin unhealthy?
A cute little white girl has gone missing so guess what's splashed across the cover of Rupert Murdoch's New York Post to distract us from Republicans wars and a Republican recession?
The Truth Hurts @ 5:
The answer is fairly obvious to me, but I just wonder why nobody ever asked the QUESTION before. The answer leads you to the source and bias of where all these media "concerns" about flag pins and pants suits come from. It's one of life's great ironies that the people who spend all their time throwing sh!t rarely get hit by it. It's just a question of throwing it fast enough that everybody is too busy ducking it to throw some back.
WTF? What the hell does weight have to do with anything? MSM strikes again! No wonder many Americans are dumb-asses! Listening to this BullShit will make you go insane.
That is an honest to god quote out of the WSJ today. Gotta find every excuse possible to bring out that POW meme.
Does anyone think Obama sits back and wonders if all this shit is real? He must shake his head and wonder if it's really all worth it. This craziness must be exhausting to deal with.
I know a large part of me would be anxiously waiting for this nonsense to end—win or lose.
Elect mcKeatingFive!
He'll bring DONUTS!
.
This is a simple case of:
D I A M O N D S
~or~
P E A R L S ?
It's provocative yet inane.
It's NOT relative to the job!
Let's ask questions like;
"Should the president be allowed to authorize torture?"
"How will the next president undo immunization and restore Americans Rights to Justice and redress?"
"How will the next president fill in the hole this $600,000,000,000,000,000.00 dollar deficit the Nation is facing this next fiscal year?"
"Should the president be allowed to authorize warrantless surveillance on the American people?"
"How will the next president ensure that during their term, they will set fourth a movement to preserve the environment and not aide to it's destruction as has been the case this last decade?"
"How will the next president keep the Nation safe while respecting the protections provided by our Founders as set forth in the Bill of Rights?"
"Should the president be allowed to authorize ex post facto laws?"
"etc...?"
... can we?
These are far more relative to the future of the Republic than who's wearing "you know who's" loafers and the such...
.
Ruthless People @ 25:
McKeating5 with a box of DONUTS?
Once again, republicans take a big ol' dump on satire.
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/as_obese_population_rises_more
More importantly, are Sen. Obama's legs too long? Does he wear his hair too short? Jesus, this silly shit could go on forever and it actually gets air time on the cable news channels.
JimboSlice @ 28:
And wolf blitzer quoted that same thing on his show this afternoon.
jwf @ 22:
You want to get up in front of a group? Say something that will entertain and inform the group. Be a model. Be well-groomed. Dress well. Have well-shined shoes.
Embittered & Anti-Republicrat - Max-Hussein-1 @ 31:
What a weird idea! ;-)
It's an improvement over doughy fuckfaces like Limbaugh and Rove.
Mick Piobr @ 37:
I liked this comment by Winkandanod at The Carpetbagger Report:
the story we need:
WSJ asks: ‘Could Sen. McCain’s doddering be a liability?’
sorry Mick,
I screwed the quotes up and couldn't unscrew em. :/
I think the author needs to be called out for being a worthless tool of a failed GOP
amy.chozick@wsj.com
"70% of how you look, 20% of how you sound, only 10% is what you say" - Eddie Izzard, Dress to Kill.
pissed off patricia @ 34:
97 DAYS
I was JUST reading that article, threw it down on my desk and decided to find out if anyone on da blogs was writing about it so I could say,
WHY ARE THESE REPORTERS ALL RETARDS?????
Check out the discussion about this at Sadly, No!. The woman who wrote this trash apparently did her journalistic "research" by trolling the Yahoo! message boards two weeks ago. Kid. You. Not. Of course she got ridiculed, but that didn't stop her from writing this PoS article.
VietVet8666 @ 36:
That didn't answer my question. I've done public speaking. It didn't make me any taller. How can proper grooming make Obama look like an "every man"?
Embittered & Anti-Republicrat - Max-Hussein-1 @ 42:
Asking REAL questions that really MATTER; what an idea. But what about our precious ratings!? Where's the titillation? Gad, I hate the ProfitMedia and I feel so much better since the teevee got the heave-ho from our house...
Peter G @ 18:
I can only vote for you for president once. I'll write you in for VP as well.
But what if Obama was captured by the enemy, kept in solitary confinement, and fed very very little for a period of weeks? Who would make a better president then? HUH?!?
nwj10 @ 9:
I looked at that and realized that I am Presidential material, I am the same height as John McSame and weight the same as Bill Clinton!!
I can handle weighty issues!
Joe Conason: Wanting the White House in the worst way; The pundits who adore John McCain wonder why he has adopted campaign tactics he once despised, but his compromise with the smear merchants began a long time ago.
pissed off patricia @ 35:
If the Dems want to play this game Karl Rove style, they need to go after McC*nt's perceived strength: his POW status. Do we celebrate someone who fucked up and couldn't get the job done? A failure who got shot down before the job was complete. Is that the kind of loser we want running this country?
Harsh, yes. But the GOP had no problem painting John Kerry as a worthless, spineless pussy. Or Wesley Clark as a mere desk jockey hiding in an air conditioned office.
It's time to return the favor.
Blue Lensman @ 51:
your version has quite a few detractors. I have read a few where ther are hotels, hookers and hooch. There's also some sealed military records.
Saw that Sadly NO piece as well. I emailed the Dan Abrams show to alert them for their Beat the Press segment.
And weren't we being told how athletic and fit GWB was with his biking and exercise regimen?
there's 97 days left. the time to really push will be later. convention in a few weeks. he can unleash the 527s, etc.
Barack has gotten this far by not doing what anyone has predicted.
abarts @ 44:
I LOVE Eddie Izzard. What about his piece on mass murderers under 'house arrest'? Got any videos? Hysterical.
Obama fits all the criteria. His smile is amazing, radiant and it seems very sincere (weird, for a politican). Her certainly gives off a strong sense of hope... I'm just not sure how anything he says or does is going to fix the mess the Repugs have made (well, not in a hurry). There's a long ways to recovery but he looks like he's got the stamina to take it on...
Truth@54 I'm with you bro - but I don't think that it's going to happen. "Songbird" and "wet start" and "Keating" need a lot more exposure.
But I don't think that it would happen; the ProfitMedia wouldn't echo those because it would be "disrespectful" to their stooge.
#40, (Me think you are on to something). I agree with this being driven by the greedy industry types.
I must be a masochist. I'm watching Race to the White House, and the unbalanced panel of 3 conservatives (or 3.75 if you count that airy moderator) to RAchel Maddow's one compelled me to complain to MSNBC. I asked them if their rationale is that it actually takes 3 or more conservative brains to equal her progressive noodle.
And what are they talking about? The race card. And how is the issue framed by Gregory? Is Obama playing the race card? or "McCain says Obama's playing the race card." or "Does Obama have some explaining to do over his comment...etc."
Eugene Robinson: So Much for St. John; 'It's awfully early for John McCain to be running such a desperate, ugly campaign against Barack Obama. But I guess it's useful for Democrats to get a reminder that the Republican Party plays presidential politics by the same moral code that guided the bad-boy Oakland Raiders in their heyday: "Just win, baby."' 8/2
"I grow old. I grow old. I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled."
T. S. Elliot
Someone over at Sadly,No! did some homework about the research done for that article. OMG.
http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/10322.html
The WSJ really needs to be very very ashamed.
umm no, but that scab on mccain's face this week should be.
I only vote for those I can have a beer and a BBQ with. And the fatter the better. Think Norm Peterson with a Texan twang.
d00d @ 67:
Eating at the The Hungry Heifer?
Candy Crowley weighs in.
http://www.craigcampart.com/sasquatch/SasquatchMugShot3.jpg
Well I'm voting for Obama because he reminds me of my rail-thin, ramrod-straight, African-American stepfather. Some folks are just built that way, sheesh!
As a natural blonde with a family that is half African-American, I can safely say McCain has no clue (in his $500-dollar Italian loafers.)
Why not view the race as a referendum on successfully uniting American families through intermarriage? YES WE CAN & SHOULD!
rend @ 66:
Enough about Cindy McCain and public displays of affection.
I have this to say to the GOP and their supporters:
Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin.
Evan @ 3:
I love it. None of these "he's not American enough" chords are resonating in middle america, but they just keep on hammering on them in desperation. The flag pin didn't stick. The Reverand Wright mess didn't stick. The fist bump didn't stick. So now they're playing the "He's not FAT enough to be an American" song? Actually, trying to ring both the 'he's not an American' and 'he's a snotty snob' bells at the same time! Now THAT'S what I call audacity. That Wallstreet Journal article even spells this out for us.
"Despite his visits to waffle houses, ice-cream parlors and greasy-spoon diners around the country, his slim physique just might have some Americans wondering whether he is truly like them. The candidate has been criticized by opponents for appearing elitist or out of touch with average Americans... "
So now NOT looking like Jabba The Hut makes you both un-american AND an elitist? I don't remember McCarthy's House Un-american Activities Committee having any rules about how fat you have to be to be a loyal american, but I guess they must have.
pissed off patricia @ 68:
I only vote for someone who is lean and fit
Not only Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin, but also:
Fiat justitia, ruat caelum.
Michael Moore is too fat. We shouldn't listen to him.
Al Gore is too fat. We shouldn't listen to him.
Barack Obama is too skinny. We shouldn't listen to him.
Kill me now.
The MSM love the fat pudgy pale muthaf*ckers like Rove, Steve Schmidt, Cheney, and a hole slew of Booshies. There's a factory in Texas spewing them out.
Screw MSNBC and CNN for ranting about pure useless crap- but then again they do that for their advertisers too, don't forget, because they too want you to keep buying more of the useless crap that put you in debt, made Bush, Cheney and the Clintons rich and who, together, made China and India so powerful and rich they can suck the air and gas right off the planet.
Now let's talk about something really weird and fat besides Karl Rove or Tom Delay. How about that fat bloated 'monster' that washed up on an east coast beach??
Only Fox is making a big deal out of it - of course. The women who submitted the photo are now getting lots of interviews, but Fox and others don't notice the identifying hooves are kept concealed with sand. It's a a wild male pig or boar.
From above:
Obama did so well when he was in the primary against Hillary. His responses were right on and rapid. Now we seem to have the attacks, trivial and tripe and blatant falsehoods, as well as targeted subliminal messages yes, but because they are so ridiculous, Obama does not seem to be firing back.
Obama and his campaign need to hit back on each lying McCain talking point, and challenge each ridiculous comment and statement of McCAIN and demand that he pull back the lying ads!!
Doesn't matter if it works... it gets repeated and its air time and it matters!!
Otherwise the headline surfers in each lame category; celebrities, sports, anorexics of america, or weight watchers, or bowling knitting circles, etc... will have enough viewing converts to build up into an accumulated amount of voters that may make a difference. It's the swift boat recipe multiplied into scorched earth strategy and the outrageous mudslinging is to distract from the outrageous positions and statements made by McCrazy!
Obama's campaign needs to strike back on the details and facts.... and strike hard and fast!! Quick before the masses of sheeple become afraid of the black/muslim,radical christian/skinny/world popular/foreigner who wants to raise your taxes and run off with your daughters!!!
I seem to remember another President that was tall and thin and fought for equality and blacks rights and freedom for the nation.... hmmm had a tall top hat.... beard......
Hey maybe that's it! MAybe Obama needs to grow a beard like Abe Lincoln??
Come to think of it, they were really scared of him too...
"Michael Moore is too fat. We shouldn’t listen to him."
Ironically, (and it makes me 'supersize sick' to have to admit this) the fact that Michael Moore is a big fat slob who wears a baseball cap, a grubby T-shirt, and 'relaxed fit' jeans is part of what's allowed him resonate as much as he has with mainstream america. Can you imagine how much traction his movies would have gotten if he'd looked and dressed like GEORGE WILL, or William F. Buckley?
Apparently, it's okay for a conservative to be an anemic four-eyed geek with a bow tie and a spastic colon, but if you're spouting progressive/liberal philosophy, instead of conservative drivel, you'd damned well better look like DAN CONNOR from 'Rosanne,' plaid shirt and all. If not, you're not a real american. You're some strange insect that should be put on display in the Smithsonian.
Actually, I think this post has solved our VP candidate problem for us! Screw all the crap about Wesley Clark balancing Obama's weak national security and foreign policy portfolio. Obama and Clark are both TOO THIN, and we cannot allow the Democratic ticket to be persieved as too lightweight!
Alright, it's settled, then. Bill Richardson's our man! Great energy policies, extensive foreign diplomacy experience, and he fills out Obama's obvious shortcomings in the BLUBBER department. No f-ing protein bars for Richardson. Meat and potatos three times a day!
Pick one:
1. A fit president who is young and takes care of himself so he can stick around to take care of his country.
2. "Oh, yes, with sprinkles!"
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