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Is Mitch Daniels too short and balding to be president? Are Haley Barbour, Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich too fat? Mitt Romney too handsome? Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann too thin and beautiful?

Granted, it's a little early to know who's actually running and whether Republicans will nominate someone with a pretty face, low body-mass-index, great hair and above-average stature, or instead go for ideology sans cosmetology, and let policy trump physique.

But with the first GOP debate of the 2012 campaign set for May 2, and with height, weight and attractiveness already being discussed by some potential contenders and pundits, these are questions worth examining.

"In the TV age, in the social media age, the presence of a candidate in photos and videos counts a lot," Josh King, President Bill Clinton's expert on visuals, told Politics Daily. "Substance always matters but it needs to be put in the package. It's not whether a person is tall or diminutive, but instead has a charisma and substance as delivered on the stump that connects with the voters. If you think back to '92, the fitter and trimmer guy has been elected, and if you need a tie-breaker, it's also the younger guy."

Republican political consultant Mark McKinnon told me: "What you want today is something, anything, that makes you stand out. Voters want authenticity. And they increasingly prefer candidates who, like themselves, have flaws. People are suspicious of perfection or model looks. This is good news for the Chris Christies, bad news for the Mitt Romneys."

As for Palin and Bachmann, "women may have some latent jealousy, scratch their heads and wonder, 'They have birthed five kids are still size-2, lustrous brunettes?' " said Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway. But rather than own the envy, these voters may mask their resentment as ideological disdain. "I'm old enough to remember the 'don't hate me because I'm beautiful' " ads for Pantene hair products from the '80s, she added.

For the record, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pegged the average weight of American males over age 20 at nearly 198 pounds and height at about 5 feet 9½ inches. Women averaged close to 165 pounds and stood just under 5 feet 4 inches.

Since 1900, the tallest presidential candidates have enjoyed a definite advantage, winning 19 of 28 elections. Those stats reversed an earlier trend: Between 1789 to 1924, the shorter guys declared victory in 15 of 26 races.

Weight is another factor, and it could carry a good news-bad news double standard: Voters seem to be more accepting of fat men than fat women seeking office, according to University of Missouri researchers.

But even political experts seem divided on the presumed advantages of a lanky frame, a nice face and the visible fruits of girth control.

Perhaps aware of the pitfalls of perfection, Romney, a former Massachusetts governor now mulling a second White House run, makes fun of his tall, handsome self by saying, "I'm the guy in the photo that comes with your picture frame."

Christie, who appears to be the largest presence in the GOP field -- despite recent assertions that he's not ready for a 2012 race -- won some MSNBC pundit praise Thursday night. Host Chris Matthews cited the New Jersey governor's "commanding presence," and Newsweek's Jonathan Alter noted "there are a lot of overweight people out there; they don't consider it to be a negative."

[Now, it turns out Christie now works out with a trainer three times a week and watches his diet, reports the Associated Press."Slowly but surely I'm taking the weight off" for the sake of his four children, age 7 to 17. "I need to be around for them."]

Don Imus joked before the 2009 election that Christie should set a better example for his obese constituents, the Republican candidate shot back: "I am setting an example, Don. We have to spur our economy. Dunkin' Donuts, International House of Pancakes -- those people need to work, too."

Other pols have also weighed in on the subject.

Last year, when the portly Barbour was asked about a possible challenge to the tall, thin Barack Obama, the Mississippi governor quipped, "If you see me losing 40 pounds, that means I'm either running or have cancer."

Since then, he has "lost some weight. He hasn't lost 40 pounds. He might be halfway there. So read into that what you will," a Barbour adviser recently told Politics Daily's Jill Lawrence.

Self-described "recovering foodaholic" Mike Huckabee, who once topped 300 pounds but shed 110 of them after a 2003 diabetes diagnosis, has since bulked up a bit. The former Arkansas governor-turned-Fox-News-commentator and radio talker, during a 2009 trip to Oklahoma, lamented his "constant struggle to find decent things to eat on the road and not get terribly messed up with the same old habits." He later blamed a foot injury for cutting into his jogging routine.

But having lost so much weight may give Huckabee -- who hasn't yet said if he'll run again for president -- an edge over his chunkier rivals.

"It's a little bit hard to talk about fiscal discipline when you appear not to have a lot of self-discipline," Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, told me. "Most of our presidents in modern times have been taller than usual or fitter than usual: Lyndon Johnson, both Bushes, Reagan, Clinton, Obama were all over six feet. On the other hand, Americans want to identify with a president, and it seems so many of us are short and fat that it might be helpful."

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich, no one's idea of a buff jock, took a swipe at the current White House occupant, who is heavily into sports. "What we need is a president, not an athlete," Gingrich said after a speech to the Southern Leadership Conference in New Orleans. "Shooting three-point shots may be clever, but it doesn't put anybody to work."

Not surprisingly, the focus on size is offensive to many, including the National Assocciation to Advance Fat Acceptance. "Basically what happens when you only look at a person's weight, you are asking the public to make a decision on cosmetics rather than competence," Frances White, co-chair of the all-volunteer group, said in an e-mail. "The person's total qualifications should be examined, not just their appearance."

True enough, but "potential candidates would be remiss to ignore such stereotypes in contemplating a run for political office," says Elizabeth Miller, a political science professor who co-wrote the University of Missouri study that found a double standard for overweight women and men.

When shown doctored photos of ficticious fat candidates, participants assigned higher negatives to fat women in such key areas as reliability, dependability, honesty and competence. Once women no longer fit "the thin ideal," they lose credibility, Miller said in an e-mail. "For men, however, the ideal is to have more muscle mass and be larger. In fact, obese male candidates were often evaluated more positively than their non-obese counterparts."

Where does all this leave Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana, whose small stature (official height: 5 feet 7 inches) makes him not only the shortest potential male contender but also the lightest?

"Daniels is perfect," McKinnon told me. "He's the antithesis of Obama. Short, balding and wooden. His slogan can be 'Less Is More With Mitch.' "

The former White House budget director can also take heart from James Madison, America's fourth president and the shortest chief executive in history. In 1808, Madison, all 5 feet 4 inches of him, defeated Federalist candidate Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. (History doesn't tell us Pinckney's height, though he comes across as an average figure in at least one portrait.) Four years later, the diminutive incumbent claimed victory over DeWitt Clinton, a towering 6 feet 2½ inches.

To piano-playing political satirist Mark Russell, all this focus on candidate appearance "reeks of looksism." But it didn't take him long to describe "the perfect candidate: Long on height, short on looks, fat between the ears, a pompous sexy good old boy who wears a white sheet on the weekends and can see Russia from his plantation."

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What started last month with an anonymous woman's Craigslist dating search for men who don't "look like toads" ended Wednesday with the resignation of two-term Rep. Christopher Lee, R-N.Y., a married father who passed himself off as a divorced lobbyist when he sent her a topless muscle photo of himself.

Gawker.com broke the story about the lying lawmaker under the headline "Married GOP Congressman Sent Sexy Pictures to Craigslist Babe."

Within hours, he had quit his $174,000-a-year job and issued this statement:

"I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness. The challenges we face in Western New York and across the country are too serious for me to allow this distraction to continue, and so I am announcing that I have resigned my seat in Congress effective immediately."

Answering a Washington-area "Women for Men" ad last month, Lee described himself as 39, divorced, a lobbyist and a "fit, fun classy guy." And to prove it, he e-mailed the shirtless photo to the unnamed government worker from Maryland.

Once she figured out the man she thought might have been a JC Penney model was actually a 46-year-old congressman, she went to Gawker with copies of their bantering e-mails about bad Craigslist dates.

Lee wouldn't discuss the incident Wednesday afternoon when intercepted by Fox News enroute to his car, saying, "I have to work this out with my wife."

He resigned later in the afternoon. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to set a date for a special election to fill Lee's seat.

For a while it seemed he might try to tough it out. A Lee spokesman earlier told Gawker that Lee believed his e-mail account had been hacked around Jan. 21, although the date on the e-mails containing the topless Blackberry portrait was dated Jan. 14.

In the warp-speed world of online news, the Gawker story was added to Lee's Wikipedia profile by mid-afternoon, though it should be noted that in the case of the fit, fun philanderer, he was answering, not placing, an ad.

"In February of 2011 Representative Chris Lee was found to have been posting personal ads on Craigslist looking for women and lying about his age and marriage after e-mails and risque photos he sent to a woman were uncovered."

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Is the state of the union of former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky, her husband of barely seven months, solid?

"The couple are very happy," a family friend told Politics Daily, in response to questions raised in media reports about why the two are currently living nearly 1,900 miles apart.

Clinton, 30, is in Manhattan pursuing her doctorate in public policy at New York University, while Mezvinsky, 34, who recently quit his financial sector job at G3 Capital, is spending a few months skiing and snowboarding in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

The National Enquirer cited a "close" source saying Chelsea asked her parents, former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton -- "if they could help her get an annulment" after a serious argument with Mezvinsky over when she would get pregnant.

"These reports are completely false," the family friend told me.

It's not as if the two hadn't already spent years together before doing the two-state tango. They met in the 1990s, started dating in 2005, got engaged at Thanksgiving 2009 and tied the knot last summer in a lavish wedding in Rhinebeck, N.Y.

It's not as if Marc, who worked for Goldman Sachs before joining G3, didn't make enough money to pay $4 million for a Manhattan condo a few years back, and has probably socked away enough since then to take off for a few months before looking for his next gig.

It's not as if Chelsea, always a conscientious student, couldn't study just as hard in his absence and then, every now and again, hop a private jet owned by some family friend, for a hassle-free flight to Jackson Hole.

While Marc's parents -- former Democratic Reps. Edward Mezvinsky of Iowa and Marjorie Margolies of Pennsylvania -- have kept scrupulously silent on the suject of the couple,
Chelsea's father and mother have spoken openly and longingly about the next generation.

Bill Clinton has made it clear he'd like to be a grandfather. Then, speaking for his wife, he noted, "I'll tell you this: Hillary wants to be a grandmother much more than she ever wanted to be a president." Descibing Chelsea's marriage to Mezvinsky, he said, "I've known this guy for half his life...and they've been friends a long time. I admire him, I love him and I think it was time for her to do it. I trust my daughter. She has always had good judgment about life."

Hillary Clinton also weighed in with this statement: "Let me just say, I love babies, so you know, maybe I'll have more in my life some day," describing herself as "absolutely" ready for grandmotherhood. Both Clintons "spend as much time with our daughter and [her] husband as they will let us. So we, luckily, live in New York near where they live, because that gives us an easier chance to get together for dinner or go to the theater or just hang out. And we're always looking for excuses to do that."

Perhaps they'll also hit Jackson Hole some time soon.

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With President Obama's State of the Union address just hours away, the bipartisan seat-mate scramble continues apace.

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor says he's asked Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to sit with him, but his frequent adversary Tweeted her regrets. "I thank @GOPLeader for his #SOTU offer, but I invited my friend Rep. [Roscoe] Bartlett from MD yesterday & am pleased he accepted."

And four proponents of mixed seating held a Capitol Hill news conference Tuesday morning to explain why they're in favor of crossing the aisle.

Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), who proposed the idea two weeks ago to minimize political rancor, said if members couldn't even join forces for one night, how could they possibly face such challenges as the economy and energy policy.

He said he would walk in with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and then they'd split up. Udall would head for the GOP side of the House chamber and Murkowski would join the Democrats. With numerous lawmakers mixing it up, he said, "that leads to a sense we are in this together."

Murkowski conceded that bipartisan seating is "symbolic," but added, "Why not start off this new 112th Congress with a gesture, an effort to try to come together if even for just a couple of hours?" It's time to show the world "there are no cooties to be had" by sitting with political rivals. She also suggested the media focus less "on some of the partisan drama" and more on Democrats and Republicans who work together. In what might be interpreted as both a show of Polish American pride and a copy editor's nightmare, Murkowski will pair off with Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.).

Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) noted that the "the world is watching tonight" and that "far too often you will see members trying to get their Oscar awards on C-SPAN" using overblown rhetoric and harsh language.

Freshman Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who plans to sit with Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), called for fewer reflexive floor demonstrations during Obama's speech, and urged members to "really mean it when we do stand."

As for intemperate language, especially in the wake of the Jan. 8 Tucson shooting rampage that left six dead and more than a dozen injured, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), Udall said, simply, "Sticks and stones can break bones, but words can do real damage."

Maybe so, but the whole notion of bipartisan seating has become ripe for satire, much of it featuring dance metaphors that range from "prom date" to "freshman mixer."

Since Udall began his push for crossing what he called the congressional "Continental Divide," members' wives, Capitol Hill staffers and, of course, journalists (I plead guilty) have been offering suggestions for odd-couple pairings and groupings, while lawmakers themselves have taken to announcing their choices on Twitter, talk shows, at news conferences and in hometown interviews.

Debbie Dingell, whose husband, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich), is the longest-serving (55 years) politician on Capitol Hill, told him he should sit with Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill, who at 29 is the youngest member of the House. Instead, the former chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee chose the current GOP chair and fellow Michigander, Rep. Fred Upton.

A number of freshmen, including Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.), also will form bipartisan pairs.

CNN's ever-festive Jeanne Moos called the spectacle "State of the Date," and bestowed the title "prom king and queen" on tall, handsome Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and the blond and lovely Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, (D-N.Y.), the subject of a recent Vogue magazine profile.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), who infamously shouted "You lie!" at Obama during the president's 2009 health care speech to Congress, Tweeted about his SOTU menage-a-trois with two Democratic colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee: Rep. Susan Davis of California and Del. Madeleine Bordallo of Guam. He'll gallantly cross over to their side of the aisle.

Despite a pair of polls last week showing that a majority of Americans favor bipartisan seating for the 9 p.m. presidential address, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a co-founder of the House civility caucus -- yes, there is such a thing -- told the Associated Press that "really, for the average citizen, they don't give a rip where we sit."

Perhaps not, but Debbie Dingell, the House spouse who years ago organized annual bipartisan family picnics and retreats, thinks red state/blue state socializing is good for lawmakers and thus good for the nation. "It's very hard to demonize people you know," she told me. "The next step for members who are sitting together for the State of the Union is to go out for dinner."

Udall said there is talk in the Senate of holding monthly bipartisan lunches.

Still, Murkowski had one last suggestion for covering the State of the Union: Do not pay excessive attention to "who's sitting with who. It reminds me a little bit of junior high. . . . The focus should be on the president, not where everybody ends up sitting."

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Get ready for Comity Central, or something approaching a massive Congressional date night as pairs and groups of Republicans and Democrats cozy up in adjoining seats for President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech.

No sooner did Third Way, a centrist think tank, float the notion of muting partisan cheering and jeering through open seating after the Tucson shooting rampage that severely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) than Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) jumped all over it.

"There is no rule or reason that on this night we should emphasize divided government, separated by party, instead of being seen united as a country," he wrote to colleagues.

Dozens of lawmakers eager to appear bipartisan, if only for a few hours, answered the call. They range from New York Reps. Anthony Weiner, a Democrat, and Peter King, a Republican, whose wife called the duo the "biggest loudmouths" in the House, to the bipartisan Congressional Women's Softball Team.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) will attend with Sen. John Thune (R-S.D), while Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) will become an item for the night.

"I think if Coburn and Schumer can sit next to each other, then probably just about everybody can," Schumer said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Intra-state Senate duos include Florida's Bill Nelson, a two-term Democrat, and Marco Rubio, a GOP freshman and tea party darling. "I know it's important to me and to Marco that the two of us have the basis of a personal friendship, and that's always been the tradition of the two senators from Florida," Nelson told Politics Daily.

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat will sit with freshman Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.
Ditto for the Illinois twosome, Democrat Dick Durbin and GOP newcomer Mark Kirk.

Moreover, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) promises to behave Tuesday night; last year he yelled "You lie!" at Obama in midspeech. No indicator yet who'll be next to him.

Certainly sitting with opponents is an easy, no-risk way for lawmakers to score civility points, said a spokesman for one House Democrat, who sought anonymity in return for cynical candor.

"It's not like a freshman mixer," the aide said. "It's probably more a way of getting some good press back home, but I think it will also be interesting to see the dynamic of how the speech is received. Members will be on better behavior. You won't have all that standing up and cheering by some while others stay in their seats. . . . I don't think a lot of new friendships will be forged. They will be sitting with people they already know."

Naturally the idea is ripe for satire. I had visions of mutant congressional e-dating: "Cap-and-trade Democrat seeks pro-life Republican for one-nighter," or "Tea Party budget hawk in search of immigration dove for possible friendship." The possibilities are limitless.

"Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, could sit with new Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), who tried to hire as his chief of staff a woman who called Pelosi 'garbage,'" suggested Dana Milbank of The Washington Post. "Attorney General Eric Holder would naturally be joined by Rep. Darrell Issa (who has called President Obama's 'one of the most corrupt administrations' in history.) Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan would sandwich Sen. Jeff Sessions, who led the opposition to their confirmations."

Humor aside, the new civility is apparently fine with voters. A recent CNN/ORC poll showed 72 percent of the public favor bipartisan seating, with only 22 percent preferring traditional separation by party. Though all demographic groups like cross-pollination, Democrats and independents are much more likely to favor it than Republicans, says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. A Fox News survey has slightly lower numbers, with 56 percent of respondents saying it's a good idea and 39 percent finding it "silly."

If history is an indicator, Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) will find himself a Republican buddy. As chair of the Center Aisle Caucus, he encourages bipartisan relations "to try to create and repair some friendships, and I think that does make a difference. I think if you know more people on the other side of the aisle you're much less likely to yell at them in the context of a political debate."

There are conflicting reports on the seating plans of the Colorado delegation. The Denver Post has all seven House members -- four Republicans and three Democrats -- attending as a bloc. "Last year I went over and sat on the Republican side," Rep. Jared Polis told the Post. This year he'll be among homeys of both parties. The New York Times puts Democratic Sens. Michael Bennett and Udall with the state's GOP members.

Whatever the arrangements, logistics may be tricky for groups, given that some lawmakers stake out a seat on the center aisle hours before the 9 p.m. speech, the better to be seen on TV and to shake hands with the president, Cabinet members and Supreme Court justices.

But not everyone thinks the new civility is such a great idea.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell did not seem wowed when asked about it on "Fox News Sunday," saying he was going to sit where he usually does, at the Republican leadership table.

"More important than the appearance of sitting together is what we do together," he said. "And the American people are more interested in actual accomplishments on a bipartisan basis here in the next six to nine months than they are with the seating arrangement at the State of the Union."

Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) told radio host Scott Hennen that Democrats "don't want civility. They want silence from the Republicans. And the sitting together being kissy-kissy is just another way to try to silence Republicans, and also to show -- to keep the American people from seeing how few of them there are in the U.S. House now. Then when people stand up . . . what the Democrats are going to be doing when Barack Obama spews out all his venom, then, um, if they're scattered throughout all the Republicans, then it won't be as noticeable as if we're sitting apart."

New York Magazine's on-line "Daily Intel" column also thought it eliminated an important element for those watching the annual event.

"A neat separation of the parties allows the American people to see, in real time, their positions on the president's agenda and the issues of the day," the Daily Intel column said. "It's actually very informative and helpful to be able to easily assess which proposals the Republicans and Democrats support, respectively, through the decision to applaud. It also allows us to identify the few party-bucking independent thinkers who, every so often, stand up to clap while the rest of their colleagues remain seated."

Such visuals won't work in "one big bipartisan hodgepodge" because that "brief chamber reaction shot on TV becomes nearly impossible to decipher."

That said, this state of the union speech could provide the most interesting viewing since Nancy Reagan started the tradition of putting everyday heroes in the First Lady's gallery.

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In May 2007, then-House Minority Leader John Boehner and his wife, Deborah, attended a glittery White House state dinner for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip hosted by President and Mrs. Bush. The dress for men was white tie and tailcoat, more formal than the customary tuxedo.

Cabinet members, business leaders, diplomats and politicians -- Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott, a Republican, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat -- were also there, along with former First Lady Nancy Reagan, golfer Arnold Palmer and jockey Calvin Borel, who rode the 2007 Kentucky Derby winner.

Fast forward to November 2009, May 2010 and this week.

The same John Boehner who toasted the queen in 2007 has since refused all three state dinner invitations from Democratic President Barack Obama for key U.S. allies: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and, on Wednesday night, President Hu Jintao of China.

"Speaker Boehner will have a substantive meeting with President Hu later this week," his spokesman, Michael Steel, told me by e-mail. (It's set for Thursday on Capitol Hill.)
But the speaker's press office did not address questions of why Boehner declined all three Obama state dinners, or whether he believes nothing meaningful can be achieved by spending social time with world leaders and their delegations.

He "doesn't necessarily believe in all the pomp and circumstance of Washington," former Republican National Commitee spokesman Doug Heye told Politico, which broke the 3-for-3 state dinner boycott story.

To be fair, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent regrets to that 2007 dinner for the queen because "his office said he didn't have white tie," recalled Anita McBride, then-chief of staff to Laura Bush.

But in the world of protocol and etiquette, "You really have to be sick, dead or dying to regret a state dinner invitation," McBride noted.

"I hate to think it would be pettiness: 'I don't like the president so I am not coming,'" said a former social secretary in a Republican White House, who requested anonymity. "I think you can assume that the administration, when they have a state dinner, wants to show a bipartisan face" to foreign leaders. Some lawmakers "might be uncomfortable in black tie or white tie, they might be uncomfortable with the positions of the administration."

They may also object to the policies of the visiting head of state, or not want to be seen as part of the Washington establishment, said the former social secretary. "There is not Republican who couldn't benefit from sitting next to a Vernon Jordan," one of the city's Democratic power brokers and political wise men.

On the other hand, it is important for every White House to invite the opposition, she said. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was not among the chosen, his office confirmed.

Forgetting partisanship for an evening has its advantages for everyone, said McBride. "I don't want to second-guess the speaker but one of the things I have learned is that those parties historically are a very important part of a diplomatic effort. There is a lot of work that gets done in social situations, a lot of work on the part of government and business leaders . . . This is one thing where I say I'd take a page out of the Nancy Pelosi book. She never regretted an invitation with President Bush, with whom she had major policy differences."


Turning down such invitations, especially by someone who is third in line for the presidency, is a big mistake, says Letitia Baldridge, who was President Kennedy's social secretary. "I think it's short-sighted and a failing of his duty." Yes, there were Democrats and Republicans who brushed off Kennedy state dinners without explanation, but Baldridge, who says she's given protocol advice to five first ladies, called such behavior "so conceited of the person." Not attending a state dinner "is his loss because he is losing out on a very special moment in history."

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