Mike's Make-Over

Obviously, the common reaction is to think of a 100-pound weight loss as an impressive act of will.

I was wondering, though, where Mike’s accomplishment fits, exactly, in a group of Republican posers who are all so made over (albeit ideologically or character-wise ) that hardly any of them present as they did before.

Maybe these pictures suggest — as they take their place in the political resumé of a relative unknown — that this deceptively amiable and publicly toned-down bible thumper is just one more GOP shape shifter.

… By the way, check out Robin Givhan’s woeful take on the Huckabee figure at WAPO.  She writes:

Mike Huckabee is in the unenviable position of being the only candidate whose actual body — rather than the clothes he drapes on it — invites a level of scrutiny heretofore unseen on the campaign trail.

Yeah, tell it to Hillary, or even John Edwards’ $400-an-hour hair stylist.

Milestones: Mike Huckabee (NYT Interactive)

Mike Huckabee’s Style (WAPO slideshow)

The Huckabee Factor (NYT Mag)



(images: unattributed.  2001 & 2005.  From  “Huckabee, really?” Cover story. December 12, 2007.  NYT Mag)