Chris Christie's lap-band surgery and what it means for 2016
May-09-2013

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he decided to get lap-band surgery in February for his family. "For me, this is about turning 50 and looking at my children and wanting to be there for them," Christie told the New York Post.

We believe him. But, Christie's decision to undergo surgery to help him lose weight can't be removed from the context of politics since Christie is widely regarded as a presidential candidate in 2016 - assuming he wins re-election to a second term in the Garden State this fall.

The simple fact, which Christie, his advisers and everyone else in politics knows, is this: No one as overweight as the New Jersey governor has come close to winning the presidency (or even a party's nomination) in the modern - read: television - era.

Bill Clinton struggled some with his weight during his presidency - who could forget this picture? - but he was, at most, slightly overweight, not obese. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was very heavy during his time in office but made his remarkable weight loss a major part of his 2008 presidential campaign. (Heck, he wrote a book about it.)

But there aren't that many examples of people with major weight problems - and Christie has acknowledged many times publicly that his issues with weight are serious - who have come close to the presidency. (The only obvious example is, of course, William Howard Taft. But he was president more than a hundred years ago.) Our last two presidents - George W. Bush and Barack Obama - both put a premium on physical fitness, regularly working out or clearing brush (Bush) or playing basketball (Obama).

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Posted by Ken at 4:50 AM - Link to this entry  |  Share this entry  |  Print