Coming up Wednesday
How much should media discuss health of public figures? Daily Beast's Howard Kurtz and Lauren Ashburn weigh in
It's not exactly a secret that New Jersey governor Chris Christie has long struggled with his weight. All the talk about his size heated up after he did this very funny appearance on Letterman where Christie whipped a doughnut out of his pocket and started munching on it.
"The Wall Street Journal" discussed the "politics of Christie's weight." "The Washington Post" wrote that "Chris Christie chews the fat about his weight." "Huffington Post" asks "Can you be obese and healthy?"
And it got so intense that when a former White House doctor told Jim Acosta that she was worried that Chris Christie would die in office, the governor went at her and told her to "shut up."
This morning on "Starting Point," Howard Kurtz, host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and Newsweek/DailyBeast Washington bureau chief, and Daily Download editor-in-chief Lauren Ashburn discuss whether it's appropriate to examine Christie's weight in the media.
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I think without a doubt it's not only acceptable but necessary to discuss health issues of public figures. When obesity becomes socially unacceptable, the numbers will drop just like the number of smokers. Obesity won't go away if we all believe there is nothing wrong with being fat. Someone in a public position like this should be setting a positive example and it should not be off the table to discuss.