I keep seeing this clip of Ann Coulter saying that if the Republicans don’t run Chris Christie, Romney will be the nominee and they will lose:

But when I see Christie, I am appalled.

It isn’t that Christie is fat. I understand. A person’s weight is largely determined by their genetics. I’ve seen this in my own life: other than a variation of two pounds, my body wants to weigh what it wants to weigh. Ezra Klein discussed this in an article at the end of last September: Chris Christie is not too fat to be president. But I think that while Christie might be able to be president, I’m not sure he could run for president.

It is that Christie is extremely fat.

He seems to be at least as obese as Orson Welles at his largest. And running for president is by all accounts a grueling endeavor. I really wonder if he would be up to it.

As to Klein’s point that obese people don’t really die earlier than other people (Welles made it to 70): I don’t think that’s the point; could he manage to walk 10 miles a day or work 20 hours a day? And as to Klein’s point that weight is genetic: yes and no. I don’t think anyone should be held responsible for being, say, 50 pounds over weight. But when they get to the point of a Chris Christie—or Orson Welles—it is more than just genetics. I don’t know what’s going on with Christie. In Welles’ case, his habitual use of speed when he was young undoubtedly contributed to the problem. Regardless, I doubt either man could, at 50, put in the hours and miles required to run for president.

And hopefully Ann Coulter is right.