There’s a big, fat political story in America: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s weight. Mr. Christie cuts an impressive figure compared to the lightweights competing for the 2012 Republican presential nomination; despite his protestations, he’s being touted as a contender with heft.
Chris Christie’s career in elective office stretches all the way back to January 19, 2010, a tenure nearly as long as that of former Alaska Temp-Governor Sarah Palin. Mr. Christie wants to put his state’s government on a diet by starving the poor and middle class, he is a former registered lobbyist for big corporations, and his legal background is littered with skeletons and controversy. Despite all this factual fodder, it is the governor’s personal avoirdupois that has media pundits salivating.
The feeding frenzy has only started, but here’s the first course:
“Look, I’m sorry, but New Jersey Governor Chris Christie cannot be president: He is just too fat.” –“Can ‘People of Weight’ Become President?” Michael Kinsley, Bloomberg News
“Chris Christie electability: Would his girth be a campaign issue?” Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor
“Christie’s weight takes center stage,” Burgess Everett, Politico
“Guess Chris Christie’s Weight!” Timothy Noah, New Republic
“Chris Christie: Would Worries Over Weight Sink Presidential Bid?” Katie Moisse, ABC News
“Chris Christie’s weight gets sized up amid talk of New Jersey gov’s potential 2012 presidential bid,” Brian Browdie, NY Daily News
“Op-Ed Columnists Notice Chris Christie Is Fat,” Jen Chung, Gothamist
“Chris Christie’s Weight Is a Bigger Issue Than His Policies,” Matt Kiebus, Death + Taxes
“Chris Christie: The politics of weight,” Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times
“Chris Christie and the Return of Fat Politics,” Daniel Engber, Slate
“Civil Rights Group For The Obese Comes To Chris Christie’s Defense,” Sam Stein, Huffington Post
“How to Turn Chris Christie’s Weight into an ‘Issue,'” Elspeth Reeve, The Atlantic
“Is Monstrously Obese Chris Christie Even Too Fat For Republican Voters?” Wonkette
“Chris Christie Is Fat. So What?” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine
“Chris Christie is not too fat to be president,” Ezra Klein, Washington Post blog
“A Story With Fat Metaphors in Every Fold,” Betsy Rothstein, FishbowlDC
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Tags: campaign, Chris Christie, Christie, commentary, fat, GOP, government, health, Jersey, journalism, New Jersey, nomination, obesity, Overweight, politics, presidential politics, republican primary, Republicans
NotionsCapital 
October 3, 2011 at 7:29 am
Upadate:
“Downgrade Christie for his truculent style. Reject him for his limited experience. But don’t dwell on his heft, at least not to the extent that many Americans have been whispering — and some are now outright saying — you should. Girth doesn’t equal character. And mettle has better measurements than the number of scoops in your post-dinner sundae or miles in your pre-breakfast run.”
“The Round and the Oval,” Frank Bruni, New York Times