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Is Chris Christie Too Fat To Squeeze Into The Oval Office?
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 29, 2011
Modified Sep 29, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 29, 2011
Modified Sep 29, 2011
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New Jersey Governor Christie is now, according to a tabloid report, "giving serious thought" to running for president, and he may make an announcement to do so as early as this Monday! Christie insiders tell the Post that he had a “mind-blowing” experience at the Reagan library yesterday which may have changed his thinking. But now a big question looms on the horizon like a massive asteroid blocking out the sun: Is Chris Christie too fat to be President of the United States?
ABC News reports that "politics, after all, is a business of image and first-impressions—and study after study shows that people judge the hefty more harshly than they judge those who are thin." And David Birdsell, dean of the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, says, "Overweight people have much less of a chance of getting a job, they have much less of a chance of keeping a job... they are paid less than those who are thin."
But other analysts think voters might be ready for a plus-size president, theorizing that he looks more like the kind of "real American" that they can identify with, instead of that slender and well-tanned health nut Obama. "Maybe this is a time when you need someone to be a bull in a china shop," one political scientist speculates. "Well, bulls are big." They ARE big. And the fastidiously-maintained housewares boutique that is Washington, DC definitely needs someone to come in and trash the place. After four years of the Obamas making us feel bad about our appearance, it sure would be a breath of fresh air to get a regular guy president, like that time America reelected that average Joe from Texas because they wanted to get a beer with him.
As for Christie, he insists that despite his husky appearance, he's in tip-top shape. "Despite the well-chronicled issues with my weight, I've been relatively healthy by all objective indicators," he said in a statement. That time he was rushed to the hospital with difficulty breathing? Asthma. Definitely not because he was out of breath riding in a helicopter.
Tagged
Chris Christie
fatties
Politics
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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