Tony Abbott 'too fit' to be Prime Minister

In a typically petty anti-Liberal piece at the ABC's "analysis and views" site The Drum, former Crikey editor and current The Drum editor Jonathan Green questions Tony Abbott's "fitness" to be Prime Minister:

Sunday March 28 will be a big day for Tony Abbott.

On that day Abbott will compete in the Ironman Triathlon in Port Macquarie.

Lets just spell that out, then pause for a quick breath. This is no ordinary race. The ironman triathlon is a 3.8 kilometre swim. Followed by a 180 km bike leg. And then a 42.2 km run. That last bit is more usually referred to as a marathon. Except a marathon is not normally preceded by a 3.8 km swim and a 180 km bike ride. You have no more than 17 hours to complete the three.

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Tony Abbott, now presumably tapering his training, must be feeling as good or better than he ever has in his life. He must be chockablock with a robust sense of self worth. Totally absorbed in his sense of achievement. Rippling with a finely tuned utterly physical sense of self.

The next thought is: how can he possibly manage to combine the training for an event like this with the demands of public life? Is it conceivable that he can do both and give both his best?

Most of us would find the training requirements for a race like this beyond imagining.

Green then describes the strenuous training regimen of British triathlete Jonathan Bramley, who had little time for anything other than race preparation, Green concluding:

We might joke about the chunky, workaholic geek we have as Prime Minister, but would the country be well-served by so dramatic a jock alternative? Can a man so absorbed in physical training give the fullest possible attention to his fundamentally intellectual day job? Or would the contrast be a refreshing, invigorating alternative... a healthy mind and a healthy body?

Fair questions to ponder as the budgie smuggling form of the elite athlete who would be PM takes on the race of his life on Sunday week.

Abbott is not a competitive triathlete, having completed a half triathlon in Nivember 2008, his effort qualifying him for further competition. Green nonetheless smears Abbott as a "budgie smuggler"-wearing "jock", who as we all know are narcissistic weirdos. Green clearly does not believe that a healthy body contributes to a healthy mind.

Perhaps Abbott should abandon the fitness regime, instead claiming to have been raised in a car.