Political discourse in 2008

There have been a handful of legitimate reasons to question Barack Obama's qualifications to be President - chief among them, his experience or lack thereof - but there have been many, many silly ones, as well: his name, the fact that the rest of the world likes him, the fact that he's smart and carries himself with assurance (which is somehow being spun into "elitism" and "arrogance").

And now, the dumbest one yet: The Wall Street Journal today posits that Obama is unfit for office because he's too fit, because he's in such good shape.

From the article:

"'He's too new ... and he needs to put some meat on his bones,' says Diana Koenig, 42, a housewife in Corpus Christi, Texas, who says she voted for Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.

"'I won't vote for any beanpole guy,' another Clinton supporter wrote last week on a Yahoo politics message board.

"The last overweight president to be elected was 335-pound William Howard Taft in 1908. As for tall and lanky presidents, 'you might have to go back to Abraham Lincoln' in 1860, says presidential historian Stephen Hess. 'Most presidents were sort of in the middle.'" ...

"These days he stays away from junk food and instead snacks on MET-Rx chocolate roasted-peanut protein bars and drinks Black Forest Berry Honest Tea, a healthy organic brew. (Sen. McCain is said to have a weakness for Butterfinger candy bars, jelly beans, and coffee and doughnuts from Dunkin' Donuts.)

"But too much time in the gym can cause problems, as Sen. Obama learned last month after he made three stops to local Chicago gyms in one day, for a total of 188 minutes. The marathon workout session sparked a widely circulated Associated Press article titled 'Obama Becomes a Gym Rat.' In it, the reporter wrote, 'Sometimes it's hard to tell if Barack Obama is running for president of the United States or Mr. Universe.' ...

"Food faux pas have plagued presidential candidates in the past. On a 1976 visit to Texas, Gerald Ford bit into a tamale with the corn husk still on. He lost the election to Jimmy Carter. In 2003, Mass. Sen. John Kerry was labeled effete when he ordered a Philly cheesesteak with Swiss instead of the usual Cheez Whiz topping."

So there you have it: America has become a country where being intelligent, self-assured, popular and even in good shape have all become negatives. I was right earlier in the week: Seth Rogen for President!