Michael Kinsley Wrong to Say Chris Christie Too Fat to Be President

COMMENTATOR | Michael Kinsley, a liberal commentator, has made a very odd suggestion about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Kinsley believes that Christie is just too fat to be president of the United States, a sentiment he freely suggests is un-liberal.

He is wrong on both counts.

First of all, Kinsley’s attitude about Christie’s weight would be a great surprise to President Howard Taft, a very hefty man who was in the White House in the early 1900s. Clearly Taft was not too fat to be president.

Kinsley’s not concerned that the burdens of office plus the health risks of obesity will carry Christie off before he can serve out a term. He is concerned, however, that he will serve a bad moral example in this age of what some people call an obesity crisis.

Kinsley freely admits to being a hypocrite by giving President Obama a pass for being a smoker and President Clinton for being a philanderer. That points to his real reason for objecting to Christie becoming president. It is not that he has some kind of moral failing because he likes to eat (never mind that obesity can be caused by metabolic and other health conditions as much as by food). Kinsley objects to Christie because he is a Republican and obese.

Actually, he objects to the New Jersey governor because he is a Republican, thick or thin.

Kinsley is clearly wrong that Christie ought not to be president because of his size. There is no weight requirement in the Constitution for president. The idea that he would be a bad example for the fast food -ddled children of American is laughable. If that is the case, then Bill Clinton surely should never have been president, considering the number of kids who engaged in “Lewinskys” because the president did.

Kinsley is also wrong in suggesting that his bigotry is an un-liberal attitude. Bigotry, intolerance, and discrimination are hallmarks of modern liberalism. If the reader does not believe this, imagine speaking up at a cocktail party in Hollywood or Greenwich Village and saying how much one likes Sarah Palin. Then run for the door. Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of “South Park,” used to start riots for their own amusement by openly opining that George W. Bush was a great president at Hollywood social occasions. And they thought they had gotten into trouble with the Islamists.

Next thing you know, Kinsley will object to Palin being president because, well, she’s a woman and you know how moody they get at that time of the month. It makes just as much sense as saying Christie shouldn’t be president because he is overweight.

Source: Requiem for a Governor Before He’s in the Ring, Michael Kinsley, Bloomberg, Sept 29, 2011


People also view

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *