How sexy is Barack Obama?

February 18, 2009

If power is sexy, then it stands to reason that world leaders would all have something to offer in the hotness department. But a brief review of presidents and prime ministers past and present reveals that this is more often the exception than the rule -- for every fetching Trudeau, there's at least a dozen jowly Nixons.
 
Since it's the season of hearts and arrows, and in honour of the new US President's first official visit to Canada, we're checking out how Barack Obama measures up against standard measures of sexiness: Is he well dressed? Is he in good shape? Does he have a sense of humour? Is he self-confident? And – most importantly – is he Canadian enough to be sexy?
 
Is he well-dressed?
On the opening day of Milan Men's Fashion Week, Donatella Versace dedicated her spring/summer 2009 collection to then-presidential candidate Barack Obama. She said he was "the man of the moment" and that he inspired her new collection, which was designed for "a relaxed man who doesn't need to flex muscle to show he has power".
 
She then went on to offer the now-US president some wardrobe advice: "I'd get rid of the tie and jazz up the shirt."
 
To date, he has kept the tie, but often looses the jacket, even in the Oval Office, which breaks a cardinal Bush White House rule.
 
The verdict: A well-dressed rule-breaker who inspires Versace? Totally sexy.
 
Is he in good shape?
While supporting Obama rival John McCain during a campaign rally in November, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told the audience he wanted to invite Obama to a bodybuilding contest.

"I want to invite Senator Obama because he needs to do something about those skinny legs," he said. "I'm going to make him do some squats. And then we're going to make him do some biceps curls to beef up those scrawny little arms."
 
Obama is no Mr. Universe (a title Schwarzenegger once held), but he does work out 45 minutes, six days a week. And it shows. Sexy? Check.

Page 1 of 2 - On page 2, find out if Obama is Canadian enough to be sexy.