Our Emaciated Leader (POTUS)

Drudge Report has a leading article including pictures of a quite emaciated looking POTUS. This really got me thinking about why.



I realize that being the president is an extremely high stress job and that stress could potentially lead to weight loss. However, I cannot see how someone could lose that much weight in a two month period without having other contributing factors.

I would like to discuss other possibilities for the weight loss. Could it be an illness? Could it be drugs? Something else?

Keep in Mind: This thread is NOT about bashing the POTUS!

Take a look at this photo that was taken yesterday at Atlantic University:


In the above photo, I see a man who has sagging skin from quick weight loss as well as hazy and sunken eyes. This look is common among people with drug problems. I'm not saying this definitively but it's worth considering.

Now take a look at a photo that was just taken two months:


I don't see any of the same features as in the photo taken yesterday. I see bags under the eyes likely due to the lack of sleep you get when dealing with the weight of the world.

So, with all that being said, is it possible that our POTUS is dealing with an affliction of some kind...be it an illness or something else?

There would be cause to keep all this a secret due to the upcoming elections and what would happen if said knowledge became public.

So, I ask you, ATS...

What do you think it could be? Is there something affecting our president other than stress?

Link to Drudge Report

Daily Mail Article

AGAIN: Please do not make this about bashing the president. I'm not trying to troll. I'm honestly looking for some opinions and seeking answers that maybe I'm not realizing.

Another thing to consider is his attempt to quit smoking. In my experience people that are quitting or attempting to quit tend to gain weight during the initial process, as they choose to eat when they get the urge to smoke.

In this article, Michelle states that Obama had kicked the habit: Obama Quit Smoking

He's deflating!!!

Must be all of the hot air he's losing from all of that trash he's speaking...

Or drugs.

~Namaste

Are you serious?

you try to use weight loss for a smear campaign against the president and say that he is on drugs?

What garbage.

Originally posted by nixie_nox
Are you serious?

you try to use weight loss for a smear campaign against the president and say that he is on drugs?

What garbage.

Yes, I'm absolutely serious. This IS NOT a smear campaign. Did you even bother to read the thread?

Have you not seen the photos? That's not normal. This is our sitting POTUS. We have every right to be concerned with it.

Typical response from someone who cannot see past the party lines and actually weigh a decision without bias.

He's stressed to hell and worn out, probably forgets to eat it's easy done.
He's gone considerably grey over his term too, not that it's particularly surprising either. Reckon I'd be grey and gaunt if I had to put up with half the bashing he has.

Originally posted by Suspiria
He's stressed to hell and worn out, probably forgets to eat it's easy done.
He's gone considerably grey over his term too, not that it's particularly surprising either. Reckon I'd be grey and gaunt if I had to put up with half the bashing he has.

Thank you for the honest reply. I think the grey is easily attributed to the stress over the last 3 years.

The part that is most worrying to me is the difference in his appearance in just 2 short months. I spent about an hour going through google photos from this time-frame and it's clear to see a big difference in his appearance.

reply to post by freakjive


Well stress can make you physically ill, so maybe the stress is playing with his general health. He may not be sleeping well. There could be many reasons for it. He may of course be on drugs, but since it seems to be a fact that almost everyone in America rattles like a Smartie tube he may well be on prescribed drugs for something or other.

As for the smoking bit I tried giving up with that Champix (called something else over there I think). Made my eyeballs hurt and completely ruined my sleep, had to stop it.

I'm also one of those odd people who don't reach for the comfort food when I'm stressed or worried. Losing a scary amount of weight is all too easy to do. He's never been a heavy set man anyway. Even losing a small amount would be obvious for his features.

reply to post by freakjive


If you weren't on a smear campaign, you wouldn't of given such specficity to the fact that he looks like he is on drugs, several times, and you briefly allude to illness and nothing more specific.

If you were truly exploring other explanations then trying to imply he was on drugs, you could also say that his new features were indicative of someone fighting, say cancer. But you didn't.

POTUS is the hardest job in the world. Every president, one term or two, comes out looking 20 years older then they should.

Hell, Bush was so eager to get out of there, when Obama sent him off, he went running to the helicopter and left his wife behind, LOL.
He was like: i am getting the hell out of dodge.

Prez Obama strikes me as the kind of guy with the metabolism that he can eat whateer he wants and never gain an ounce. But they tend to lose weight easily. Which is hard to believe with your own personal chefs but at the same time, they have to find time.

And as others noted, he has gotten a lot greyer too.

Moral of the story is, if your obessed with your youthful looks, don't become president, lol.

Because I dislike watching and listening to any politician, I really hadn't noticed his dramatic weight loss....But now that you point it out, I do see it. I had noticed his hair going grey, but I was born the same year as Obama and my hair has gone very salt-and-peppery in the past 4 years too, so I figured it was a combination of age and stress.

The most logical explanation is stress. There are some people who completely lose their appetite while under extreme stress.

This, of course, begs the question of what sort of stress he is under. He seemed to handle the last election with ease. What is going on, and who is pressuring him, above and beyond getting re-elected?

Originally posted by FissionSurplus
This, of course, begs the question of what sort of stress he is under. He seemed to handle the last election with ease. What is going on, and who is pressuring him, above and beyond getting re-elected?

Don't feel too bad. I'm 32 and am already getting lots of grey.

This was exactly the type of reply I was hoping for. Let's think critically about this. There was just as much stress (as far as we know) in the last election and the years leading up to this point.

Is he aware of something bigger? Does someone have something over him and he has fear of being exposed? Is it all just stress because it seems that another war is inevitable at this point.

I may have derailed my own thread by questioning illness and drugs, but those are the things I immediately think of when I think of dramatic weight loss in such a short time.

Another thread sorta peaked my interest (and it may or may not be on topic): Possibly Related Thread

It seems to me that this letter is extremely premature knowing what we all do about this election cycle. Do you think they know something we don't? Or, is it simply a "wish-list" type of thing?

I don't think it's drugs, b/c that would be incredibly difficult for him to hide.

My guess is simply stress. Perhaps even a side order of depression to go along with it.

Have you looked at the pics of Abe Lincoln from the beginning of his term and right before his death? It looks like he aged twenty years.

reply to post by freakjive


I think this has probably been one of the hardest presidencies ever.
Think about how much that has happened in just four years.

Ending teh war in Iraq
Cuba
Afghanistan
Syria
North Korea
BP
the budget
gas prices
dont ask dont tell
healthcare legislation

that is just the start of it.

I had heard somewhere along the line that Obama takes a prescription medicine called Provigil to help him keep alert and to avoid jet lag. One of the other things it can do is cause weight loss as it acts as speed. I cannot find the exact article that I read about this, as it seems to have disappeared off the net.


The White House Mystery Drug
Mar 4, 2010 6:03 PM EST
Obama's newly released medical report reveals he's taking a prescription medication for jet lag. Barbara Kantrowitz on the guessing game over Obama’s magic pill.


Daniel Gluskoter / AP Photo

Tucked away under a list of medications in the report on President Obama’s recent physical exam is this intriguing notation: “Jet lag/time zone management, direct physician prescribed program, occasional medication use.” Obama’s doctor, Navy Capt. Jeffrey Kuhlman, didn’t say what drug the president might be taking to fight the mind-numbing effects of crossing too many time zones. But sleep doctors we consulted say one possibility is Provigil, a stimulant that is regularly prescribed to help people fend off excessive sleepiness.

Fans claim you get all the benefits of a triple shot of espresso without the jitters or anxiety that can accompany a massive hit of caffeine.

“If they’re going to give him something to wake him up, Provigil is the way to go,” says Dr. Lisa Shives, medical director of Northshore Sleep Medicine in Evanston, Illinois.

While the White House won't say what the president is actually taking, Provigil (also known by its generic name modafinil) is an intriguing possibility. The drug has acquired an almost mythic status in recent years as a pill that makes it possible for the user to bypass the all-too-human need for sleep and work 24 or even 36 hours at a stretch. Manufactured by Cephalon, it’s in a class of medications called “wakefulness promoting agents.” Fans claim you get all the benefits of a triple shot of espresso without the jitters or anxiety that can accompany a massive hit of caffeine. It’s reported to be increasingly popular among sleep-deprived cohorts like long-distance truckers, fighter pilots, and students pulling all-nighters—and brought in $1 billion for Cephalon in 2008.

reply to post by bluemoon



Yep.. there are plenty of drugs that will cause weight loss or a lack of appetite. I have NO idea why this was such a sticking point for some to consider.

They can use Nuvigil, but provigil is the old standby and what is used sometimes with AF with pilots. I do believe its being used in the private sector now for commercial pilots.

Ive notice that he looks terrible. I mean he looks like he is ill and smoking cessation usually causes a gain in weight, not the kind of weight loss we're seeing with him.

Originally posted by smyleegrl
I don't think it's drugs, b/c that would be incredibly difficult for him to hide.

My guess is simply stress. Perhaps even a side order of depression to go along with it.

Have you looked at the pics of Abe Lincoln from the beginning of his term and right before his death? It looks like he aged twenty years.

I was just going to mention the Abe Lincoln connection! You beat me to it!
I find it very curious that POTUS says Lincoln is his Hero and he has displayed many similarities to Lincoln over the years ..His Demeanor is said to be Very close to the descriptions of Lincoln ,Speaking Eloquently etc.. Now he is looking at the possibility of a "Civil" disturbance from the Slaves..oops the Citizens...Its very strange if you ask me! I saw a Doc in the past year or so that had a Doctor give Abe a diagnosis and it was cancer..possibly of the Colon or intestinal/stomach areas I believe.