A win for the 'skinnies'

Much has been said about the election of Barack Obama as our next president and what it means - with most of the emphasis centered on the fact that he will be our first African-American president, one of our youngest, the first Democrat to hold the office in eight years, one who is going to bring about "change," etc. But one thing has been overlooked, as far as I can tell: his was a win for us skinnies.<br /> <br /> That's right. For the first time in recent memory, maybe since Abraham Lincoln, us skinnies will have a contemporary in the White House. The current occupant - George the Second - can't be classified that way. Certainly his predecessor - Bill "Gimme A Big Mac" Clinton - didn't and still doesn't fall into that category. George the First could be considered lanky I guess but not hardly skinny. The Gipper? Not hardly. Georgia's own J.C.? Nope. Not Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, LBJ, JFK, Ike, Harry Truman and FDR. Not Herbert Hoover. You get the message.<br /> <br /> The weights and heights of presidential candidates - unlike athletes - are no usually available as part of their resumes' or biographies. But with a little searching one can find Web sites that offer such tidbits of information. <br /> <br /> One of them - munfitnessblog.com - devotes 12 pages to Obama and his physical fitness, his purported workout sessions, pick-up basketball games, and other related musings... including the heights and weights of some of our presidents.<br /> <br /> It says the shortest and lightest was James Madison, 1800-1817, and who stood 5'4" and weighed 98 pounds; Lincoln, 1861-1865, was the skinniest, 6'4", 170 pounds and also notes he is said to have lost 20 pounds while in office (guess a civil war will do that to you); and, William Taft, 1909-1913, was the heaviest of our presidents and the last one who was overweight. The story goes that he once got stuck in the White House bathtub. Just once? What did they do, get a bigger tub? Or did he just stop taking baths?<br /> <br /> According to munfitnessblog.com, the soon to be former President George W. Bush is 5'11" and weighs in at 190. John McCain, the man Obama defeated in the quest for the White House this year, is 5'7" and weights 165.<br /> <br /> What about the president-elect, himself? <br /> <br /> Most Web sites I checked put Barack Obama's height and weight at 6'1", 170-180. That's my territory. I check in - most of the time - at 6"2, 180. So, see what I mean about his being a win for us skinnies?<br /> <br /> Wonder if he has had to put up with questions like "how do you stay so thin?" <br /> <br /> And, while we are at it, why do people ask that? Do you ever hear anyone ask people at the other end of the spectrum "How do you stay so fat?"

http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/12/215888