The attacks on Regina Benjamin's weight

Was Fox News out of line to ask whether Dr. Benjamin is too fat to be surgeon general?

Fox News has stooped to a new low, said David Kurtz in Talking Points Memo. Anchor Neil Cavuto recently did a segment on whether President Obama's new surgeon general nominee, Dr. Regina M. Benjamin, "is 'too fat' for the post," complete with a guest wearing a "No Chubbies" T-shirt. (watch the Fox News segment on Dr. Benjamin's weight) Former surgeon general C. Everett Koop wasn't exactly svelte, but he wasn't treated so disrespectfully because "he wasn't black or a woman."

There's no evidence that anybody is really making a big deal over Dr. Regina Benjamin's weight, said David Frum in New Majority. "But now that you mention it—it’s not completely crazy." Obesity is a real problem, and even though surgeon general is mostly a symbolic post, you'd think Obama would pick someone who has overcome this challenge.

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