by Mark Silva
As a "weekend warrior,'' the basketball-playing, golf-loving President Barack Obama likes to carve out time for his own fitness. As president, Obama likes to carve out time to think.
Speaking of health, the first couple speaks at some length about each of their own fitness regimes in interviews appearing in coming issues of Men's Health and Women's Health magazines.
As a self-described "weekend warrior on the basketball court,'' the president speaks of the importance of personal fitness. As a one-time community organizer, he says, he came to appreciate the need for health insurance.
On his own method of staying cool under stress, the president tells the magazine: "I ask [aides) to design my schedule in a way that focuses not just on what's coming at us, but on being active instead of reactive... [I] carve out time to think, which is probably the most important time for somebody who's trying to shift an organization, or in this case, the country."
In the October issues, on newsstands Sept. 15, the president and First Lady Michelle Obama speak about some priorities. This will be the president's second turn on the cover of Men's Health, which claims a readership of 12 million - take that, Glenn Beck. The president made his first showing there in November 2008.
Here's the new one: Mens Health cover.tif
On "the war on obesity,'' the president says: "Well, first of all, I don't think it's a war.... My mother struggled with weight--and I know that some of it was just genetic. But part of it was she grew up in a generation where, unfortunately, women weren't always encouraged to be athletically active. She didn't get into those early habits that my daughters are already in, because they play soccer and are consistently active. So it's an example of how socialization can make a difference, particularly with our kids."
Asked about "sin taxes'' on soda and other sugar-laden products, the president tells Men's Health: "I actually think it's an idea that we should be exploring. There's no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda. And every study that's been done about obesity shows that there is as high a correlation between increased soda consumption and obesity as just about anything else. Obviously it's not the only factor, but it is a major factor....
"Obviously there is resistance on Capitol Hill to those kinds of sin taxes,'' Obama notes. "Legislators from certain states that produce sugar or corn syrup are sensitive to anything that might reduce demand for those products. And look, people's attitude is that they don't necessarily want Big Brother telling them what to eat or drink, and I understand that. It is true, though, that if you wanted to make a big impact on people's health in this country, reducing things like soda consumption would be helpful."
In Women's Health, the first lady speaks of health, fitness and nutrition and the roles each play in her family's life. The magazine also claims a sculpted scoop here: The exercise routine that the first lady uses, with the advice and consent of personal trainer Cornell McClellan, for those "famously well-toned arms.'' (The magazine's words.)
"Even when I was a community organizer-- I was paid $13,000 a year--I benefited from the fact that the guy who hired me insisted that I get health care as part of the package,'' President Obama tells Men's Health. "And, you know, at the age of 24, 25, you think you're immortal. So I was thinking to myself, boy, I could use that money to pay the rent. But he was very firm about everybody having health care, and I think that he did me a great service during that time.
"Personal responsibility is going to have to be a component of it,'' the president says. "But I think it's very important, before we start talking about personal responsibility, just to be clear about the facts.
"We spend more on health care [each year] per person than any other nation on earth,'' Obama tells the magazine. "It also turns out, contrary to people's assumptions, that we are actually a little healthier than Europeans and some of our other counterparts, primarily because our smoking rates are much lower. Now, if the current obesity trends continue, that could reverse itself. But not only do we smoke less, but we have a younger population
"It's important for us to recognize that even if Americans were a lot healthier than they are now--had reduced our obesity rates below where they are now--we still would have probably one of the most inefficient health care systems out there. So how we change our delivery systems, how we make sure that people have coverage so that they're not going to the hospital for very expensive emergency-room care--those are all issues that have to be dealt with as well.
"Look, obviously if you have the best care in America, you have the best care in the world,'' the president tells the magazine. "We have great doctors here, we have great hospitals. The technology that has been developed--oftentimes through free-market initiatives--can greatly enhance people's quality of life. And a lot of your readers are, if they're like me, weekend warriors on the basketball court. They're looking at knee replacements and hip replacements so they can stay active. Those things do cost money.
"I think one of the changes that has happened-- even since I was a kid--when I looked at my grandfather, at 55 he already looked old," the president continues. "These days, at 55, people are in the prime of life. It's a sign that if you have good health care, if you have the capacity to exercise, if you're able to take care of yourself-- and a lot of that ends up being tied to economics--then people can be healthier than ever. But unfortunately, a lot of people don't have those same options. And that's part of the push behind health care reform--how can we make sure that all of us have the options of living healthier lives, which in turn will save us all money in the long term?"
Asked about "sin taxes'' on soda and other sugar-laden products, the president tells Men's Health: "I actually think it's an idea that we should be exploring. There's no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda. And every study that's been done about obesity shows that there is as high a correlation between increased soda consumption and obesity as just about anything else. Obviously it's not the only factor, but it is a major factor....
"Obviously there is resistance on Capitol Hill to those kinds of sin taxes,'' Obama notes. "Legislators from certain states that produce sugar or corn syrup are sensitive to anything that might reduce demand for those products. And look, people's attitude is that they don't necessarily want Big Brother telling them what to eat or drink, and I understand that. It is true, though, that if you wanted to make a big impact on people's health in this country, reducing things like soda consumption would be helpful."
The first lady tells Women's Health about her own childhoold shaped her approach to nutrition.
"We couldn't afford to go out to dinner, so [it] was a rare treat. We would have a theater class on Saturdays, and [afterward] if Dad turned left we were going to McDonald's, and if he turned right we were going home, and we'd always go, "Go left, Dad! Go left!" The few times he went left, it was like Christmas! And we got pizza on report card day. That was a reward, pizza. Dessert was given sparingly.
"We would get ice cream, three little pints, and we would eat out of those for days. You'd get little scoops: Here, you get a little chocolate, you get a little butter pecan, and that would be it. Those values--even though they were the result of economic circumstances--were really good, and they created some pretty healthy boundaries about food."
As an adult, she allows:
"I do love a good burger and fries. French fries are my favorite food in the whole world. If I could, I'd eat them at every meal--but I can't. My whole thing is moderation. If I make good, healthy choices most of the time, then having what I love every once in a while won't hurt. I have to exercise and eat in a balanced way. If I start ignoring both, I will put on weight. I am fortunate in that I'm five-eleven, so it takes a while for the weight to be seen, but it'll come! It's just distributed more. If I didn't exercise and eat right I would be heavier, and I have been."
On her own drive and discipline, the first lady says:
"I wanted to be smart. I wanted to be the person who had the right answer. I lived in a community where being smart wasn't necessarily the cool thing to be."
"My mother said, 'That's your choice. Don't do it for me, do it for yourself.' I heard that in my head every single day: 'I'm doing this for me.' I ran into people who doubted me, who didn't think I could do certain things. I viewed that as a challenge, and that never stopped me. That always made me push harder. Barack and I want to instill that same work ethic and focus in our daughters so they, too, can achieve anything they want to."
For the Obama girls, she says, that means a rule around the White House these days: "During the school year, no TV, no computers during the school week. Only on weekends."
Comments
It's an Obama commie/fascist/socialist/nazi plot, I tells ya!!
Will someone please help me get this damn tin-foil off my head?!?!
Posted by: I wanna be a Republican idiot | September 8, 2009 2:14 PM
It's a plot, I tells ya!
Obama is trying to indoctrinate our kids into ....fitness!
How dare him!!!
From now on I'm going to make sure that my kids drink a super sized bottle of whiskey and smoke two packs of cigarettes every day just to off-set the terrible fitness effect that Obama is trying to have on them!
Obama is not going to get to my kids, daggumit!
Posted by: I wanna be a Republican idiot | September 8, 2009 2:22 PM
Only idiot's wear tin foil hats - you don't have to aspire to be a political hack Democrat to prove it.
Posted by: springfieldSpringfield | September 8, 2009 2:37 PM
Well Wanna your too dumb to be a Republican and if all you want out of life is to be an idiot congrats you've made it baby.
Posted by: Corey | September 8, 2009 2:46 PM
Only idiot's wear tin foil hats
Posted by: springfieldSpringfield | September 8, 2009 2:37 PM
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I agree:
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http://www.dantynan.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/glenn-beck-tin-foil-hat-thumb.jpg
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Posted by: green machine | September 8, 2009 3:04 PM
In order to guess at the next Republican white noise that will issue forth from their lips, a pattern is developing.
Take one part stuffy, lying Pravda/Faux News/Rush, combine it with three parts of implausible satire from The Onion, a dash of faked lobbyist funded astroturfed populism, and mix it all together with a big heaping helping of good old fashioned, dumb-as-a-post Republican gullibility, the kind only the biggest and gruffest and loudest morons among us could possibly provide.
Never before has an American movement (Republican) so giddily celebrated their own ignorance, or so proudly crafted their own alternate realities and then stuck to them despite any and all evidence to the contrary.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-D_S7WOnjg
Posted by: Conrad Dobler | September 8, 2009 3:33 PM
Corey,
I know how you tend to deal with facts and evidence but in the last election an OVERWHELMING majority of undergraduate educated and graduate educated Americans supported Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. So you see according to these facts the Republican base has shrunk even more to include racists, rubes and dolts, in addition to just plain greedy a-holes. There are very little post high school educated folks in your "big tent"
Posted by: facts 4 U 2 digest | September 8, 2009 3:36 PM
Mark, do you ever tire of writing puff pieces about Obama? My guess is not. Your dream is being fulfilled.
Bush was a fitness nut too and somehow it seemed like the mainstream media didn't honor him for his efforts.
Anyway, I see where the Obama family has spent something like 28 days at Camp David so far this year. They spent another week at Martha's Vineyard, a few days at home in Feb., and a few days out West. So that means in just eight months time, Obama has been on vacation approximately 40 days. Don't see the media making much ado about that either.
Posted by: John D | September 8, 2009 3:48 PM
JD, you know darn well we wrote about Bush's bike-riding, and took grief for that too. I think it's actually refreshing to hear a little talk about something other than czars once in a while. As for the days off, Obama has a long way to go to match Bush's Texas ranch-Camp David-Kennebunkport days (in that order), which amounted to something like two years of his presidency all told. Though when you get a presidential daily brief every day, it's hard to call any day a real day off. Don't worry, we're fixing to get plenty serious again here on Wednesday.
Posted by: Mark Silva | September 8, 2009 4:24 PM
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Mark, do you ever tire of writing puff pieces about Obama? My guess is not. Your dream is being fulfilled.
Posted by: John D | September 8, 2009 3:48 PM
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Yeah Mark,
Don't you know that it makes you a member of the "Librul media" if you don't refer to Pres Obama as a commie...nazi...fascist..., or whatever pops into the heads of the dumber than a brick Repug base nuts like Lil' Johnny D here?
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http://www.screamingpoints.com/archives/idiot-genius.jpg
Posted by: janet | September 8, 2009 4:35 PM
"President Reagan did it, President H.W. Bush did it," Gingrich said on NBC's "Today" show. "If he could give a speech tomorrow night in the tone of his speech today to the students, this country would be much better off ... It's a good speech, I recommend it to everybody if you have any doubts."
Posted by: tried and true American | September 8, 2009 4:50 PM
Boy oh Boy - Repugs - talk about a Demo base nuts - You guys have got to get a life - BHO is President now - lets move on to places that have some HOPE..
Posted by: BigbadSouthsideJim | September 8, 2009 5:14 PM
If we accept John D's numbers, which I think we all know is a really bad idea, Obama is on a pace for about 360 vacation days in an 8 year term. John D's hero, the Great Leader George W. Bush spent 487 days at Camp David alone. This does not count the days he spent at the Ranch (an additional 490 days).
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/01/16/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4728085.shtml
So Obama really has to pick up the pace to be as big a slacker as Bush. Is that the kind of stuff you'd like to see Mark Report on John?
Posted by: Lou | September 8, 2009 6:14 PM
Well, Mark, if Obama has spent more than 40 days away from the job in less than 8 months, at that rate he will spend at least another 20 away in the next four months, which comes to about 60 days in one year.IF Obama was to be an 8-year president, that comes to 16 months or a year and a quarter. I guess that isn't the two years Bush is claimed to be on vacation, but somewhat close. Anyway, 2 years??? That seems awfully far fetched, but then any day Bush was away from the White House, I think was considered a vacation day. I mean does that include the days in August he gave a speech at the American Legion convention of Veterans of Foreign Wars or the many other places he visited while "on vacation?" Do the vacation days also include the days he had Putin at the ranch or other world leaders? I'm guessing those are considered vacation days too.
I do remember a Swamp item or two on Bush cycling. I also have this gut feeling that those items sort of made fun of him cycling too, no?
Posted by: John D | September 8, 2009 7:07 PM
Michelle is giving fitness advice? You have got to be kidding. She seems to have put on more than a few extra pounds in her short time in the white house. Is her goal to double her weight?
Posted by: jacque | September 8, 2009 8:21 PM
While not an Obama supporter, I feel it is worthy of note in response to a previous post that the president -- whether it be Bush, Obama or Washington-- is NEVER on "vacation." He is ALWAYS president, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. He never can give over those heavy responsibilities to someone else unless he is incapacitated, as Reagan was after being shot...but even then only for his few hours of surgery. Sure, the old media are gushy over Obama's biking et al where they decried Bush's being away from DC, but the rule applies, anyway.
Posted by: Derrick | September 8, 2009 8:45 PM
Derrick, yes, a president never really is on vacation. He gets daily briefings every day, still meets with staff on a regular basis, staff follows the president while "on vacation," etc. A president always is on the job, yet a country can still function if the president is away, no matter who that president is. I just make an issue to Obama's vacation time because the Left seemed so fixated on all of Bush's vacation days, whether he was on vacation or not.
And, Lou, my numbers came from a Tribune article from over the weekend about how much the Obama's enjoy Camp David. There it stated the number of days they have been there. The there were the three days over President's weekend at home in Chicago, the week at Marth's Vineyard, and the time out west visting national parks. In reality, the 40 days I noted is a bit low. Probably closer to 45.
Posted by: John D | September 8, 2009 10:37 PM
When the 8year nightmare that was W began, and W started to disappear, I did give someone the benefit out the doubt:
Someone in W's admin., who might have tried a few cases, knew how to "sequester" W from the press and public so it would not be so apparent, so soon, that, as Molly Ivins said, W was dumber than a sack of doorknobs.
The way trial lawyers like to sequester their clients & witnesses, particularly the ones who like to drink and aren't too swift.
Anyway, when was the last time you heard of a politician setting aside time for himself to think and reflect on the issues?
A politician still in office, I mean.
Never.
Just take Barack's doing so as further evidence of his discipline and of how far ahead of any other political figure on the scene.
Posted by: ornery | September 8, 2009 11:10 PM
John D, I provided documentation that Bush spent well over 450 days EACH at both Camp David and the Ranch. Do you dispute those numbers? Do you dispute that even at the rate you claim for Obama's vacations that he is well short of the rate that your Hero George W Bush spent on vacation?
Posted by: Lou | September 9, 2009 9:06 AM
Actually, Lou, I do. Of all those days Bush apparently spent at Crawford, a little research found that the media also included that when Bush was in Crawford, even when he gave a speech or made an appearance anywhere in the country, they were still counted as Crawford days. For instance, when Bush would appear at the Veterans of Foreign Wars, like Obama did last month, since Bush was based in Crawford, it was put down as a vacation day by CBS News. When Bush made an appearance in Colorado during August, because he left Crawford, it was counted as a vacation day. When Bush entertained world leaders at the ranch, still counted as a vacation day.
Anyway, CBS News has a history of distorting facts and lying, especially when it came to Bush. Remember a little something called "Forged Memogate?"
And as has been pointed out many times, a president really never is on vacation when on vacation. They still have staff, they still get security briefings, etc. Heck, while in Martha's Vineyard, Silva did note that White House staff was there too, just as it was when Bush was in Crawford.
Also, all those days Bush was at Camp David, most of them were weekend days. Much like the current president.
Posted by: John D | September 9, 2009 10:22 AM
If I had Camp David, you're damn right that I would be there every weekend! Who wouldn't want their own plush, technology connected vacation home in the mountains surrounded by wilderness, but staffed with porters and servers to take care of your every need. Sounds like heaven to me.
Even if I had to work, it would be infinitely better than having to stare out of the same White House windows every day.
Posted by: Todd M | September 9, 2009 10:25 AM
OK, John D, have you removed the days where Obama did other things from your count of his days off? Did you count the day he left Martha's Vineyard to speak at Ted Kennedy's funeral in your total for Obama?
Are you willing to compare apples to apples or do you just want to slam Obama and defend Bush? I think we all know the answer to that.
Posted by: Lou | September 9, 2009 11:25 AM
Why the Swamp's gratuitious slap at Glenn Beck when he did the work of the Tribune, Post, Times, CBS, ABC and NBC in exposing the background of a racist self-avowed Communist (Jones speech August, 1992) all too close to the president of the United States. And when will Swamp or any of the other tired old media look into the backgrounds of the other "czars" who were not vetted by the Senate and obviously not by Secret Service or the White House? Let us not hold our breath!
Posted by: Danforth | September 9, 2009 12:06 PM
Mr. Silva says Men's Health magazine "claims a readership of 12 million." Strange. Its official circulation is 1,659,594. Next you're going to tell us that every reader passes his/her copy along to eleven other persons? It might be a good idea to check facts prior to putting an unverified statement into print. Credibility is a hard thing to retrieve.
Posted by: Coolidge | September 9, 2009 12:28 PM
Hey, John D don't forget the day Bush left his vacation to go play air guitar at a Republican fundraiser while a major American city is devastated. Ignoring a major American tragedy is hard work when you are Presdient of the United States, you certainly wouldn't want to call laughing and joking while people drown a vacation, would you?
Posted by: Katrina | September 9, 2009 12:47 PM
Oh "Katrina," lay off the left wing blog lemonade.
Lou, I'm just doing the same thing the media is doing and counting all the days Obama is away as a vacation day. I've stated repeatedly that a president never really is on vacation, whether in Crawford, Martha's Vineyard, Plains, Ga., or wherever. Does that answer your question?
Posted by: John D | September 9, 2009 4:21 PM
John D, it's not blog kool aid, It's the truth. Bush strummed and laughed while New Orleans drowned. I guess his vacation couldn't be disturbed for for one of the greatest disasters of modern times in this country.
http://www.carvinmuseum.com/playersgallery/oddities.html
August 30, 2005. While Bush played, the rest of the nation sat horrified by pictures like these:
http://www.katrinadestruction.com/images/v/new+orleans+flood/SIP0515507-flooded-new-orleans.html
I was on vacation that day too. I stopped. I watched. I cried. Bush laughed and played.
Posted by: Katrina | September 9, 2009 5:13 PM