What with our celebrity-manic culture fawning over a shirtless President-elect Obama in a photo shot as he vacations in Hawaii one might think a U.S. president-to-be or president was never seen without a shirt before. Not so. The photo here shows president-to-be — albeit in about 20 years later — John F. Kennedy sans shirt in the tropical sun when he skippered PT-109. I am sure that somewhere there exists a pic of Hollywood Ronald Reagan shirtless.
And while the White House Web site kids pages list one of 6th president John Quincy Adams’ pastimes as swimming, it fails to mention that Adams used to swim nekkid. Ditto for Teddy Roosevelt. Both were said to have swam in the Potomac River near the White House wearing nothing but a smile. The top 5 presidents I would not have wanted to see without a shirt:
1. William Howard Taft
2. Grover Cleveland
3. John Adams (His Rotundity)
4. Abraham Lincoln
5. Bill Clinton
I am glad that the paparazzi wasn’t around to capture pictures of either presidents Adams, TR, or any of the other presidents swimming in the buff. Likewise, I hope if Obama decides he and Michelle want to go swimming once they are in the White House that the first couple will their swimming with their clothes on. At least the president.