Where Are The Fat Female Politicians?
LatestGovernor of New Jersey Chris Christie dashed the hopes of many a frustrated golf playing white guy when he announced yesterday that now is not the time for him to vie for the Republican Presidential nomination. In the weeks leading up to his announcement, speculation swirled about his policy positions and viability as a candidate, but also we spent a lot of time talking about how fat he is.
While the topic of Christie’s weight was being discussed on The View’s, Elisabeth Hasselbeck had a rare moment of semi-coherence when she pointed out the discussion would be different if Chris Christie were a woman. Ruth Marcus of The Washington Post goes even further, arguing that if Chris Christie were a woman, we wouldn’t even be discussing her Presidential prospects, because America would never consider voting for a fat female Presidential candidate. A fat female politician, she points out, “would never have been governor of New Jersey in the first place.”
Why? Because, she asserts, for female candidates, appearance matters more, as evidenced by simple observation. Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, while they leave much to be desired in the realm of meaningful experience, analytic skills, and ability to form coherent sentences, fit perfectly into the physical mold cast by voter expectation. South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, while not as prone to dramatic public gaffes as their aforementioned Tea Party sisters, are also svelte and well-put-together. According to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, over 60 percent of American women are “overweight,” but one would struggle to find that fact reflected in the appearance of female politicians.