In a prime-time television interview, Barbara Walters asked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie if his excess weight did not disqualify him for higher office. While her motivation for this question may stem from a desire to see no Republican in any office ever, she couched her language in pure-hearted concern for the governor's welfare:
WALTERS: Okay, governor, I feel very uncomfortable asking this question when I'm sitting opposite you, but you are a little overweight.
CHRISTIE: More than a little.WALTERS: Why?
CHRISTIE: If I could figure that out, I'd fix it.
WALTERS: There are people who say you couldn't be president because you're so heavy.
Those "people" are undoubtedly Democrats, still furious with Christie over his lambasting and political manhandling of the public employees unions in his state. Despite Christie's post-Sandy approval ratings and pop culture persona, diehard liberals do not let go of grudges easily. It would certainly not be the first time that vexed opponents resorted to fat jokes to cut their political leaders - excuse the expression - down to size.
President Grover Cleveland is best known as the only chief executive to serve two non-consecutive terms. Serving as the 22nd president from 1885 to 1889, and later as the 24th from 1893 to 1897, Cleveland made a big splash when he arrived in Washington for his first inauguration. One Wisconsin congressman observed:
Cleveland's coarse face, his heavy inert body, his great shapeless hands, confirmed in my mind the attacks made upon him during the campaign. (from Grover Cleveland by Henry F. Graff)
Hovering near 300 pounds at a mere 5 foot 11 inches, Cleveland contrasted poorly against his handsome predecessor, President Chester Arthur. Yet the capital - and the country - was soon to learn of the new president's boundless stamina. The historian Henry Graff labels Cleveland a "workaholic", conducting business until well after midnight while still arising at six each morning. Lack of physical exercise showed on his body, but it barely lessened his capacity for work or the sharpness of his mind. He left the United States a legacy of sound currency, anti-interventionism and constitutional fidelity: three virtues held in contempt by the current, skinny occupant of the White House. Maintaining such strengths did not come without a price. Populist pressure to dilute the gold standard and ease credit standards set Cleveland at odds with his own party. Running for the U.S. Senate in 1894, South Carolina Governor Ben Tillman excoriated his fellow Democrat:
... when Judas betrayed Christ, his heart was not blacker than this scoundrel Cleveland, in deceiving the Democracy. He is an old bag of beef and I am going to Washington with a pitchfork and prod him in his fat ribs. (from Grover Cleveland: A Study in Character by Alyn Brodsky)
Ironically, these same partisans accused President Cleveland - one of the most libertarian-minded since the founders - of despotism, relying only on "brains, belly, and brass."
Looming even larger among presidential silhouettes is that of William Howard Taft. President Taft still reigns as the most obese Commander-in-Chief in American history. Between 335 and 350 pounds, he was by all accounts an unhappy chief executive, and that despondence may well have contributed to his inability to shed pounds. Unlike Cleveland, Taft willingly engaged in physical recreation like tennis, golf and even weightlifting. Though some have later suspected the napping president to have suffered from sleep apnea, he was still the most widely (no pun intended) -traveled president up to that time. More importantly, though he was a poor political practitioner, he was a very wise statesman. Moderate in philosophy, he has historically appeared a stodgy conservative, sandwiched as he was between two narcissistic, self-promoting progressives: Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
President Taft served as a restraining influence on the passions of the times. He valiantly opposed literacy tests for new immigrants, arguing that many came to America to receive education that was lacking in their home countries. Furthermore, he scrupulously enforced merit in the civil service. These are not sexy issues in today's shallow reporting, but maybe they should be. Beyond that, Taft broke up trusts and promoted conservation with all of Roosevelt's zeal, if none of the ex-president's exhibitionism. Because he lacked TR's salesmanship and penchant for the limelight, Taft was unable to garner the personal popularity that would have given him the political heft to match his physical heft. His third-place finish in the 1912 election was humiliating for an incumbent, though liberating for William Howard Taft, who would go on to serve for a decade as Chief Justice of the United States.
As with Cleveland, the fat jokes usually came from slow-witted enemies. Congressman James Watson recounted a legendary encounter between the president and New York senator Chauncey Depew:
Mr. Depew stepped up to Taft... and taking liberties that I never would have thought of taking with a president, said to him, putting his hand on Mr. Taft's big frontal development: "What are you going to name it when it comes, Mr. President?" It was just about that time that Taft was beginning to have some difficulty with Roosevelt, and he quickly responded: "Well, if it's a boy, I'll call it William; if it's a girl, I'll call it Theodora; but if it turns out to be just wind, I'll call it Chauncey." (from William Howard Taft: An Intimate History by Judith Icke Anderson)
In the end, the physical proportions of our two most corpulent chiefs were, while both amusing and annoying, not debilitating. Of course, we know today of the myriad health problems associated with obesity: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, etc. Yet both these men lived to ripe old ages, with Cleveland fathering five children in his 50s. Is it not better to call for total transparency when it comes to a candidate's health than to assume it is poor because we do not like his or her appearance? John Kennedy was among the most robust presidents in image; in fact, he was among the sickliest. Still, his admirers care little about the cover-up of health problems. Perhaps because he looked so good doing it. Anyway, Ms. Walters - once a serious journalist - now restricts most interviews to the beautiful people of stage and screen. Given her well-sculpted subjects, it should surprise nobody that she finds a competent and hardworking governor unacceptable on the national stage.
To learn more about Cleveland, Taft and their politics, visit my blog at http://williamhowardstatecraft.blogspot.com/.
No comments:
Post a Comment