As soon as the mainstream media's frenzied focus on Mitt Romney's vice-presidential pick began to slow last weekend, another pursuit began â€" albeit one that was decidedly less high-minded.
That chase moved full speed ahead on Friday with the publication by the Web site TMZ of the only known shirtless photo of Mr. Romney's designated running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, whose purported six-pack abs and body fat count of 6 to 8 percent set bloggers abuzz. (“Ryan ‘Fit' for Office,†the Drudge Report said admiringly.)
But TMZ seemed slightly disappointed with its scoop, all but ensuring that the hunt for new photos of a bare-chested Mr. Ryan will go on.
“While Ryan's bod ain't bad in the pic,†TMZ reported, “sources close to Paul's abs tell us Ryan has totally transformed his midsection in the past couple of years … and now he's totally shredded with a killer six-pack.â€
The question is does anyone really care?
“There was all that mystery about what does this man look like under that tent of clothing he's got on,†said Larry Hackett, the editor of People. But Mr. Hackett recalled an old creed of the magazine's founding editor: Politicians are lowest on the list of the celebrities that people want to read about.
Perhaps Mr. Ryan would be better suited for a magazine like Men's Health. Its editor, David Zinczenko, said he would entertain the idea. “It's probably a good excuse for some fun puns, like asking: ‘How fiscally fit is he really?' â€
