Over the years, I’ve written numerous papers about how candidates’ looks affect their chances of being elected. Here’s a New York Times article that caught my eye about the challenges this year’s crop of presidential aspirants are facing in maintaining their boyish or girlish figures — not that Barack Obama, who was a fat kid, or Mike Huckabee or Bill Richardson, who have both been fat adults, would want to turn the clock back on what they used to look like. Out on the campaign trail, appearances at state fairs or drop-ins at the local diner obligate a candidate to partake of the indigenous fare, including Philly cheese steaks, fried Snickers bars, and other waist-expanding comestibles.
