Take for instance, Ron Paul’s slender build. Trippi says Paul, who also is a medical doctor, “may have a disadvantage because he doesn’t look presidential.” But on the flip side, Trippi says people are used to seeing Newt Gingrich’s hefty build, so it may not matter to them if he eats ice cream and isn’t seen working out.
Gingrich was also seen buying Moose Tracks ice cream at Elly’s Tea and Coffee House in Muscatine. In case that flavor doesn’t ring a bell, it’s vanilla ice cream with chocolate peanut butter cups and swirls of chocolate fudge. While Gingrich admits he’s got a sweet-tooth, he knows that eating in the open can turn into a media event.
Ricky Webb, manager at Mutt’s BBQ in Easley, S.C., says Gingrich didn’t turn away when he catered an event for him in November. “It was an honor,” he says, to serve Gingrich chopped chicken (all white-meat) and sweet potato crunch with brown sugar and pecans. “He said everything was good,” Webb said proudly.
His guilty pleasure apparently is ice cream, and all things associated with it. A Fox News producer following his campaign before the Iowa caucuses witnessed this firsthand at a stop in front of Adam’s Espresso & Soda Shoppe in Creston. Gingrich’s wife, Callista, was given the opportunity to make a frosty beverage. When Gingrich saw the drink, he said, “I really like that root beer float.” Callista later said she would make him one and that’s when he admitted, “I have certain weaknesses, as you can tell. Food is number one, two and three.”
In his Iowa victory speech Rick Santorum remarked, “This has been an incredible journey. Ninety-nine counties, 381 town-hall meetings, 36 Pizza Ranches. You’ll notice that I’m not buttoning my coat for a reason. Okay, I love Iowa, but the [food] fare can be a little bit thickening.”
Pellegrini says, “Dr. Paul seems to be applying his isolationist policies to the fatty foods that pepper the campaign trail. His food regimen seems to reflect his independence — in other words, he ducks the diner favorites in favor of more personal culinary proclivities — and cookies are indicative of his ever present quirkiness.”