Those Greasy Burgers Don't Fool Us, Barack

He might take his veep out for a burger once in a while, but Barack Obama is a health nut—so much so, notes Maureen Dowd, that when he and Michelle had dinner in New York "he managed the impossible feat of nibbling only one French fry." For the New York Times columnist, the president is mistaken to keep plumping for fried food and red meat when the cameras are rolling. It does nothing, she says, to convince Americans of his "regular guydom."

During the campaign Obama implored black families to reject Popeye's chicken, and he's now pushing his overweight aides to hit the gym, with his trainer or even himself for inspiration. Why be ashamed of it? As Dowd writes, Obama should skip the "grease-stained bovine bag" and take some photos with "what he really wants and America really needs: some steamed fish with a side of snap peas." (More Barack Obama stories.)