Voters view being overweight as something that can be avoided if one has willpower and discipline and they want candidates who have willpower and discipline. Mike Huckabee actually gives truth to that idea.
Mike Huckabee deserves much credit and respect for his hard work. For that matter, Rush Limbaugh too. They both look great and, I am sure, feel better.
That said, weight loss is not the simple matter of eating less and exercising more across the board. There are variables that must be taken into account for each person. A pastor friend of mine has done everything in his power...but can't shed the extra 30 pounds he carries. He eats two small meals a day, walks two miles everyday, lifts weights and never snacks.
But Richardson could be as skinny as Barack Obama and I am not sure he'd be tele-genic. In thinking over the elections since Kennedy-Nixon, the trend has been to nominate and elect candidates who are stereotypically handsome. Okay, through the 60's and 70's, substance still tended to win over style. But the bigger tv became, the greater the tendancy toward choosing the nicer looking guy.
Reagan beat Mondale...Bush beat Dukakis...Young Bill beat aging George...
Bill beat Bob...and Dubya beat Kerry. (Okay, okay -- Alfred E Newman beat Lerch from the Addams family)
I realize there are holes in this. Al Gore was always a pretty sharp looking guy. But think about primaries too. Bill Clinton was smart. But Paul Tsongas was a lot smarter. I'm not saying people get elected solely on looks. But it sure helps. And that's a damn shame.