Senator Obama famously a fitness guy, being formerly a a high-school basketball player who still loves to play every chance he gets. Being in great shape, it's no surprise that he would get featured in the premier men's health magazine (1.85 million circulation, 12 million monthly readers, 40 million page views per month) out there. Head below the jump for a few excerpts from this good story.
This is a great feature for Obama to have scored. And the story covers a lot of ground, from his family history, life lessons, smoking (he **gasp** admits to bumming a few here and there), how he handles pressure, and the ridiculous attacks that he was "too fit to be president."
Story:
Working out for elitists only?
In fact, commentators and the press had been railing against Obama just a few days before: The average guy simply doesn't have 90 minutes to spend in the gym. But the senator won't take the bait: "Well, I wish I was getting a 90-minute workout," he says. "Most of my workouts have to come before my day starts. There's always a tradeoff between sleep and working out. Usually I get in about 45 minutes, 6 days a week. I'll lift one day and do cardio the next."
But what about the yammering that being fit is elitist?
"I don't think most people think it is. It's just the nature of the politics that [pundits] need something to talk about. A tried-and-true strategy in politics is to try and take a strength and turn it into a weakness."
Family first:
What I've been able to do is create a zone of normalcy for my kids. Michelle's been wonderful about that. I have been able to transmit to them my absolute interest in them and my absolute love for them."
Smooth Operator:
One of the sillier controversies in the campaign broke in the middle of a heat wave last summer: Did Barack Obama sweat? Ever?
An AP wire story went out, accompanied by head scratching from members of the press, about people being unable to recall a single instance of campaign-trail perspiration. One day, his dry demeanor was even cited as evidence that he was using the cover of a workout to interview veep candidates in a Chicago gym. Nobody seemed to consider that he sweats less because he's in such good shape. It's obvious he's an athlete from his physical grace alone.
Check out the whole story. Great publicity for Obama in these final days of the election.