Election Campaigns Go Through the Stomach

Nibbling hot dogs and munching burgers may score points with voters, but a campaigner whose plate isn’t as empty as Obama’s was in 2008 can become unpopular.

One of the toughest things political candidates face in the United States is the pleasure of regional dishes served on the campaign tour. Enjoying hot dogs, burgers and even ice cream can make a candidate unpopular if he or she doesn’t seem to be enjoying it with great gusto or — God forbid — doesn’t even taste what’s on the plate.

That was Barack Obama’s experience in 2008, when he failed to finish a harmless sausage dish in Pennsylvania and left part of the fatty offering on the plate. He was immediately branded snobbish, arrogant, out of touch with average Americans and therefore unable to understand their problems. His then competition, Hillary Clinton, knew enough to jump on that mistake whereupon she immediately tossed off a shot of whiskey chased by a beer in an Indiana saloon. She wanted to score points as a “home girl.”

Ever since then, Obama has never shirked food of any sort. During this campaign we’ve seen him polish off all sorts of culinary specialties of every political persuasion. He’s downed chicken wings, pancakes, burgers (going after traditional voters), as well as the more hip chili (keeping the progressives in his camp), and he makes no secret of his love of sweets like ice cream, brownies and chocolate chip cookies (to impress the kids, those future American voters). Even today, as his wife Michelle tries to steer Americans toward healthier eating habits, the president still treats himself to a little junk food.

Eating their way through America’s specialties

And Mitt Romney, the ascetic-looking Republican, can now be seen nibbling his way through the menus of various swing states. In Iowa, he made a stop at a Wawa filling station (fuel and fast food) to down a meatball hoagie in the hope of improving his otherwise stodgy image. Everywhere he goes, whether it’s Minnesota, New Hampshire, Iowa, Wisconsin or Pennsylvania, Romney runs into food typical of the area he’s in — food that has its roots in Germany, Holland or Scandinavia and then became fattier and fattier as it made its way through the American frontier, pioneer life and the spirit of survival. For example, Philadelphia’s famous cheesesteak, Wisconsin’s gigantic bratwurst or deep-fried turkey legs in Iowa.

Whoever wants to be president of the United States really has to do a lot of work to burn off so many calories.