Newt does look ill. I watched a campaign stop in Iowa on CSPAN and he looked bloated and pasty. Next to his painted, starched haired wife, they looked silly. I am not normally a stickler for appearance, this goes directly to electability. We live in a shallow world, and if Newt is sick, that is unfortunate, if Newt is just out of shape, that goes to motivation and discipline. Nancy Reagan regularly put Ronnie on a diet, it is politics 101.
I think he is presently fighting flu. I wish he would disappear the wife. Big negative. I really detest family as stage prop approach anyway. I don’t care about a politician’s family. I care about their policy, period.
One of the things I really liked about Laura Bush was her discreet profile, at least while they were in the White House.