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  WSJ asks: ‘Could Sen. Obama’s skinniness be a liability?’
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ContributorArmyDem 
Last EditedArmyDem  Aug 01, 2008 09:31am
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News DateFriday, August 1, 2008 03:30:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionPosted August 1st, 2008 at 9:00 am

It’s easy to rail against the political media’s fascination with trivia, but the frustration often misses the mark. Some reporting on human-interest stories relating to presidential candidates is normal; news outlets aren’t going to be all-substance, all-the-time. Adding some trivia to the mix can help make coverage of the campaign, for lack of a better word, “lively.”

The problem is when the media treats trivia as if it were serious. I don’t mind frivolous reporting, so much as I mind when news outlets pretend it isn’t frivolous reporting.

[snip]

With this in mind, I noticed that the Wall Street Journal ran a 1,400-word article today, under the headline, “Too Fit to Be President? Facing an Overweight Electorate, Barack Obama Might Find Low Body Fat a Drawback.” It’s not just a fluff story about a slender candidate; it’s a lengthy news article about voters’ possible discomfort with a slender president.
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