The 2008 election is still almost 10 months away yet from the media coverage you would think it was Columbus Day weekend. For some this may be too much (and with the writer's strike, another reason not to turn on the TV), but despite the negative campaign ads and talking-heads, this election definitely has had some highlights. From the user submitted questions for the CNN/YouTube presidential debates (this guy's song was hilarious) to Barack Obama's MLK-esque victory speech, all of a sudden the words "innovative" and "fresh" are being used in the same sentence as "presidential campaign."
And with the first two primaries having had 4 different winners (and maybe 5 after Michigan votes today), things are really starting to heat up. But what recently caught my attention was a paragraph in an recent op-ed piece by Wiliam Kristol about GOP candidate Mike Huckabee:
He came up from modest origins. He served as governor of Arkansas for more than a decade. He fought a successful battle against being overweight. These may not be utterly compelling qualifications for the presidency. I'm certainly not ready to sign up.
What's interesting here is that Huckabee has successfully dealt with a problem that nearly a third of Americans currently suffer from: obesity. In 2005, well before announcing his run for the White House, Newsweek featured an interview with Huckabee regarding his weight loss and his efforts behind an anti-obesity campaign launched with former President Bill Clinton and the American Heart Association.
Unfortunately, Huckabee's site has no mention of his dramatic weight loss and his advocacy for a slimmer America. I would think that such an impressive accomplishment would be highlighted and used as a building block for his health care policies in general.
Candidates can argue all they want about how their health care packages will save America, but as long as high fructose corn syrup remains king, we are still going to have problems.
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