Food on the Campaign Trail

The NY Times had an interesting article last week about the roll of food on the campaign trail. The article notes the importance of candidates being willing to sample local fare while in New Hampshire diners and at Iowa county fairs, while also avoiding embarrassing food etiquette situations like when John Kerry ordered a cheesesteak with provolone in 2004. At the same time, candidates can ill-afford to have millions of American’s witness them pack on the pounds over the course of the campaign.

(photos via NY Times and Reuters)

The article sheds some interesting light on the eating habits of the candidates. Bill Richardson, clearly the most heavyset of the bunch, can’t seem to shake those extra pounds despite daily workouts and attempts at Atkins and all-liquid diets. Obama was chubby as a kid but now stays thin by avoiding fatty foods (and by playing pick-up basketball). Mike Huckabee was already known for substantial weight loss, having dropped 110 pounds a few years ago. Confirming suspicions that Mitt Romney may, in fact, be a super-powerful life-form sent from a distant Mormon run planet to take over the country, the Times article notes about Romney’s diet:

“Mitt Romney is so vigilant about nutrition that he eats the same thing every day: his wife’s granola for breakfast, a chicken or turkey sandwich for lunch, and pasta, fish or chicken for dinner.”

The same thing every day? Lame, lame, lame. Get some variety Mitt. For those who find hilarity in fatties breaking furniture, don’t fret, the article delivers on that front too, writing that Mike Huckabee:

“was once so overweight as governor of Arkansas that a chair collapsed under him at a meeting”

Bwhahahahaha! Oh Huckabee you lovable ex-fatty. Sadly the article offered no insight into the eating habits of scrawny anti-war candidate Ron Paul, which should only further fuel rumors that he is a robot who gains sustenance simply by plugging himself into an ethernet jack while he sleeps each night.