Chris Christie Focus Goes To His Girth: Does His Weight Matter?

GOP members are having their speeches dissected internet-wide this week, and whether you believe touted fact-checks on speeches by Paul Ryan (or the fact-checks of the fact-checkers) many don’t have a single thing to say about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie except, well, the guy is fat.

Media coverage of the RNC is under just as heavy a microscope as the RNC itself, but aside from a few observations, GOP favorite Chris Christie is largely escaping criticism. Though some media organizations called him out for failing to mention GOP nominee Mitt Romney for a full 16 minutes of his speech, most of the attention on Christie hasn’t been about what he said, so much as how he looks. Unfortunately, many have overshadowed what Christie had to say by focusing on his girth.

Internet commentators largely ignored Christie’s hard-hitting RNC speech in favor of digs at the governor’s weight. Indeed, the 50-year-old pol looks like he’s been gaining weight, despite saying in the past that he’s been trying to shed the pounds, reports Newser.

It is true that chunky politicians don’t track well with the American public. And as far as portly politicians go, Christie is indeed the largest we’ve seen in years. According to the LA Times, if Christie ever ran for president and won at his current weight, he’d be the heaviest president we’ve seen in 100 years.

But is that really the best we can do? Resort to schoolyard bullying tactics? For God’s sake, Christie has a record to attack! And if you can’t attack him on record why would you attack him for his weight in a nation that has become staunchly anti-bullying in recent years?

Though hypocrisy rages on, the Times speculated that perhaps the public doesn’t really obsess over Christie’s weight as much as the media does. Though the pol’s health and longevity are important considerations in his ambitious political career, the paper can’t help but wonder if the public is eye-balling a change from fitness-minded presidents past. Maybe, in the end, Christie’s weight really doesn’t matter.

After all, he’s a politician. Shouldn’t we be listening to what he’s saying, paying attention to his record, and weighing him on those fronts?

Do you think that Chris Christie’s weight hinders the public from hearing what he has to say?