As Chris Christie toys with the idea of changing his mind and running for president, alarmed liberals are attacking from his ample flanks, suggesting that the New Jersey governor is so overweight he would give new meaning to the Oval Office. Michael Kinsley, a Bloomberg View columnist who weighs slightly more than a McDonald’s Happy Meal, wrote: “Look, I’m sorry, but New Jersey Governor Chris Christie cannot be president: He is just too fat.”
And Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson was quoted by The Atlantic as saying: “You could argue that this is none of my business, but I disagree. Christie's problem with weight ceased being a private matter when he stepped into the public arena….”
On Face the Nation, moderator Bob Schieffer asked Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, who isn’t exactly a twig: “Do you think that's a fair thing to say?”
“…When somebody becomes very well known, those sort of superficial things become non-issues. But…you only get one chance to make a first impression,” said Barbour, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee and an elder of the GOP Establishment. But he went on to allow that Republican voters would fall behind Christie if he were the candidate despite the fact that he doesn’t toe the line on several conservative positions.
O’Malley, a Democrat, said: “I think at the end of the day what this race is going to come down to, is effectiveness…whatever entertainment value Governor Christie might bring to the race -- and certainly there will be tremendous entertainment value especially if you like Don Rickles.” O’Malley then disparaged Christie’s record as governor of New Jersey, citing a bond rating downgrade, the state’s 9.4 unemployment rate, and cuts to education that are lowering the state’s national standing.
Cain’s Straight Talk Express
Sarah Palin at one point called business executive Herman Cain, who decisively won a GOP presidential straw poll in Florida, the “flavor of the week” before recanting. But the Cain Train keeps chugging along, partly because the former CEO of Godfather Pizza, doesn’t mind speaking his mind.
On This Week with Christiane Amanapour, he defended his controversial statement (even a New York City cabbie was heard railing about it last week) that African-Americans have been “brainwashed” by the Democrats.
“I also said the good news is a large percentage of black people are thinking for themselves. Now…if the word [brainwashed] is inflammatory, that's too bad. It is true. And here's why: because some black people won't even listen to someone who appears to be a conservative or a Republican. I call that brainwashing.”
Cain also didn’t pull his punches when asked about stories that a hunting lodge owned by Texas Governor Rick Perry once had a racial slur painted on a rock near the entrance.
“…I know that you're refraining from saying that word, so I'm going to say what the word was on the rock. The name of the place was called ‘Niggerhead.’ …And since Governor Perry has been going there for years to hunt, I think that it shows a lack of sensitivity for a long time,” Cain said.
“It was painted over,” said Amanapour.“Yes, it was painted over.” Cain responded. “But how long ago was it painted over?”
And on Meet the Press, Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan said of Sarah Palin: “I think she will not run because, while not a reflective person or a deeply thoughtful person, she is a cunning person. She knows she will not win.”
