We recently had a couple of summer “bugs” in our family that undermined some plans.
Against that background, I found myself wondering how politicos manage to maintain their health despite heavy time, travel, and appearance demands. Do they take special precautions?
PLEASE let’s all stay far away from any snarky comments that may even border on being construed as political.
It definitely helps when one travels via private transportation and has some people who run errands.
I wonder about all that handshaking they do. That is a sure-fire way for germs to spread.
I agree about the hand shaking thing. I wonder if they use hand sanitizer a lot.
I remember Jay Leno doing high-fives with the audience before his show and then promptly shoving his hands into his pockets while the folks were going back to their seats - he did it every time. It looked like there were some sanitizing wipes or something like that in his pockets. Folks wearing jackets can do it indiscreetly. 
Sanitizer, of course, is useless against many things. Politicians probably have good handwashing stations on their buses.
Note that President of the United States is a job with a high death rate on the job. Out of 43* so far, 8 died on the job (4 due to homicide and 4 due to natural causes).
*Yes, Obama is #44, but Cleveland was double counted as #22 and #24.
Honestly not saying this to be rude, but DT admits to being germaphobic and hates shaking hands - I’ll bet he is carrying hand sanitizer - or he has gotten over this fear in the last year or two!
Bernie doesn’t shake hands.
I couldn’t keep up the pace of what they must do on the campaign trail and I am 15-20 years younger! Of course, life the White House will require long hours and much stamina so good to test that now.
Private travel helps. Difference between chartered travel and flying coach. Shaking hands itself isn’t the problem as much as what you do after (not touching eyes and mouth, washing hands before eating, etc). Some people also seem to be more resistant to certain health bugs. I know people who seem to always be sick. And I know other people who seem to never be sick. Some of that no doubt it behaviors. But some I think is just natural resistance (or lack thereof). You also do see politicians who get sick from time to time. You can hear it in their voices. And sometimes they have to cancel an event.
I recently read something where Obama shared the two best pieces of advice that GWB had given him. One was to use plenty of hand sanitizer.
I used to work on a cruise ship many years ago. I can remember how the officers in the receiving line at the captain’s cocktail party used to make a beeline for the rest room as soon as the last passenger went through the line. Back then we used to have around 900 passengers, so that was a LOT of hand-shaking. Hand sanitizers weren’t a “thing” then the way they are now, so they had to rely on good old-fashioned hand washing. :-&
Hand washing, with running water and physical agitation is still a very effective means of minimizing infections. Keeping hands away from your face is also key, so you don’t transfer any germs on your hands to your face.
I think they do use hand sanitizer. That is the “body person” role for the person who travels with the candidate – make sure the hand sanitizer is handy, track down a salad or turkey on wheat for lunch, in some cases workout buddy.
Here is an article on some of this year’s candidates:
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_56d865dee4b0000de4038dbd (please ignore the note at the bottom in honor of trying to keep the thread from veering off into a specific political direction)
I always wonder the same thing! Constantly on the road, different bed every night, a lot of hand-shaking, too much food because there’s catering everyplace, late nights, and early mornings.
When I think about their schedules, it’s not germs I think about - it’s exercise. How can you have a meaningful exercise routine when you are constantly traveling and may be meeting with people from breakfast until night?
I honestly don’t see how anyone my age (early 50s) or older can keep up that pace/schedule. I’ve often thought they are simply wired differently. Or they must be on something a lot stronger than coffee. It makes me tired just thinking about it.
Not just shaking hands, but how do you not lose your voice? I’d be exhausted with all that traveling and meeting people and talking. These people are decades older than me and I think it would wear me out. Not to mention the stress and anxiety would make it difficult for me to sleep.
Presidents Bush and Obama are known for paying attention to exercise and physical fitness even while in office. In another part of the world, Russian President Vladmir Putin is also known for that.
I assume some of it is self-selection. If you’re 25 years old, get sick frequently (or even just a normal amount), need 8 hours of sleep every night, and can’t stomach a wide variety of food, you probably don’t go into politics.
I see nothing special about politicians. Many business executives have extremely busy all-consuming schedules with near constant travel. If they are concerned about fitness they take 30 minutes in their hotel room (or the hotel gym) to exercise. Many don’t.
Teacher here. I was exposed to plenty of germs from sneezing and coughing students…and kids sent to school sick. I had 20 minutes for lunch in which I also had to take my one per day bathroom break. Enough said.
Remarkably…I seldom was sick.
These folks have been doing this for years. If they couldn’t handle the rigor of the schedule either because of illness or fatigue, I doubt they would be doing what they are doing now.