Campaign Calories

After watching the SNL skit on former President Clinton overeating at McDonalds, I was intrigued when I came across an article discussing the candidates eating habits on the campaign trail. While the article mainly discussed Senator Clinton's and Senator Obama's eating habits, I was most fascinated at the end of the article by the section entitled "Infamous Appetite." It goes without saying that they discussed former President Clinton's eating while campaigning for his wife. Even Senator Clinton has poked fun at her husband's eating habits in North Carolina saying, "You gotta help me out here because my husband loves North Carolina, and he loves barbecue and he's been eating a lot of it across the state." Although this has nothing to do with the actual election, it seems that former President Clinton will never separate himself from the image of indulgence.

In reading the article "Appetite for Votes: Campaign Calorie Count," I tried to understand if there was a relevance to the actual election. The article discussed Senator Clinton and Senator Obama's eating habits on the campaign trail. It seems the two are fairly opposite. Clinton has accepted food offered to her throughout the campaign and frequently enjoys a beer on the way back to the plane. This all helps dispel her cold image helping her to appear more friendly and like the common public. On the other hand, Obama has no problem refusing food and drinking little beer. When offered food, he generally take the "obligatory taste." He jokes that he is "skinny, but tough." How does eating affect the candidates image? Can it affect the image enough to lose votes? Can this become part of a candidates strategy?

ABC NEWS: Appetite for Votes: Campaign Calorie Count