I don’t want to vote for him, he’s fat!

Posted on April 10, 2015 by corycc

The article I chose to discuss can be found at the link: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/fashion/for-male-politicians-dieting-is-a-campaign-issue.html?referrer=
This article is fascinating to me and it touches on a variety of issues we have discussed in class. Whenever I begin to think about appearance and personality in regards to campaign politics I am instantly drawn back to the video we viewed in class of the politician announcing his plans to run. Members of the class were highly irritated by his behavior; whether it be his dry mouth, his speech patterns, or even the wall he was standing in front of. People took issues with these things and seemed to dislike the candidate because of them. Although these issues hold no political weight it seems as though he could have lost voters in my class simply because of the way he talks. I was and still am shocked people think this way.
So now we move onto the article which raises questions about weight watching when it comes to political campaigning. Not too mention the thumbnail image attached to the article is a picture of governor Chris Christy, which is clearly an example of framing and agenda setting. Aside from that the article brings to light this idea that appearance matters. It matters so much that campaign teams focus great deals of energy to make a candidate look a certain way. This often includes dieting to promote the look of strength and health. Whether I want to believe it or not these are things that matter to the people who vote. More often than not these issues matter more than the actual “issues”.

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2 Responses to I don’t want to vote for him, he’s fat!

  1. dcarden says:
    April 14, 2015 at 5:29 pm

    This article is a perfect example of framing. On page 114 of our textbook, it states,”…facts take on their meanings… ” and also “…encourages the facts of a given situation to be viewed in a particular manner…” As we discussed in class in regards to a candidate’s image during the Kennedy vs. Nixon debates. The listeners on radio actually thought that Nixon won the debate. The viewers who saw a sweating, nervous or uncomfortable-looking Nixon said they thought that Kennedy won the debate. Things have moved more and more to the sizzle and not the steak. We also discussed in class how local politician James Trafficant made a name for himself by being flamboyant during the C-SPAN telecasts. It would be interesting to follow the media portrayal of Hillary Clinton if she becomes elected President in 2016. Will they focus more on her hairstyles, her pants suits and her age versus her policies and her agendas? The press has the upper hand when it comes to framing. Now that we are aware of it, we can at least see beyond that.

    Debbie

  2. MEisenhauer says:
    April 17, 2015 at 1:42 pm

    Things like being fat, sweating too much, stuttering may not seem like real reasons to not vote for someone but as we have mentioned in class; do we want a candidate who is like a normal, everyday person? Or do we want someone who seems “better”? Some voters say they want a candidate who is more relatable, but do they really? These “superficial” reasons for not voting for someone tell us that voters actually want someone who seems “better” and not so relatable. Chris Christie (or his campaign team) also realize there is/was an issue and chances of loosing votes do to his weight, hence why he got the “lap band” surgery. Things like being very overweight and/or unhealthy make me personally think of “You can’t take care of yourself, and you think you take care of/do better for a country/state/etc.”
    http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/lap-band-surgery-helped-chris-christie-article-1.1951266

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