A Strong and Willing Stomach
Eating oysters at a political rally, circa 1930, Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Here is another story in our series Stumping and Eating, the role of food in politics. Writing in a October 6 1932 edition of the Boston Globe, George H. Atwood insisted that the first qualification for running for public office is “a strong and willing stomach.” Atwood ran for a seat in the Massachusetts Statehouse. As a candidate it's not long before one feels like you never want to see another clam, sausage, or dab of dressing. Then after you have struggled to keep down all that food you have to get up and give the same pitch to potential voters and donors again and again at campaign events. You meet all these people who "promise you the cross on Election Day and they are so generous that they give you the double cross."
