In this photo released by CBS Broadcasting, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, left, and late night host David Letterman, right, react with laughter during the Governor’s first visit to CBS’ “Late Show with David Letterman,” on Monday, Feb. 4, 2013 in New York. (Courtesy of AP)

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey has been getting a lot of flak about his weight. Critics are coming out of the woodwork to comment on the man’s size, and Gov. Christie has been a bit abrasive in his response. All this hype just leads me to one question: so what?

The topic of Gov. Christie’s weight became a talking point this week after he was a guest on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” Letterman has been known to make fat jokes about the governor, so naturally Christie joined in on the fun by pulling a donut out of his pocket when Letterman was midsentence. Later, Christie even read some of his favorite jokes that Letterman had previously made at his expense.

But does Christie really think his weight is a laughing matter? Apparently not, because the next day he made sure to inform the public that he is very serious about losing weight. He briefly addressed the need for dieting on “Letterman,” but he must have felt the need to be clear to those who showed concern about his health. He still managed to keep the energy light and positive at this point, but it didn’t take us long to see his breaking point.

Christie’s anger surfaced after a former White House physician made an appearance on CNN to discuss her concerns about his performance as president if he decides to run in 2016. She said the stress of the job would not compliment his health issues, and he may just die while in office. Christie’s response being, “she’s just another hack looking for her five minutes.”

As silly as Christie’s angry response may seem, I can’t say that I blame him. The doctor’s statements were just a waste of television time. She gave a lot of generic statements about heart disease, diabetes, blood sugar and cholesterol.

Thanks, doc. We didn’t know fat people have health issues.

We’re doing a really good job of focusing on an irrelevant matter. If any votes are cast on this basis, I blame the media for honing in on it. I mean, whose idea was it to have a doctor put in her two cents? Her prediction of Christie’s premature death was the weirdest attempt at fear mongering I’ve seen in awhile. The guy hasn’t even said he’s going to run for president. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

All we’re doing to this man is tearing down his self-esteem. Of course he’s going to laugh at himself when he’s constantly the butt of the joke. If he didn’t, he’d look like a little girl. America doesn’t want a self-conscious man leading the country. But we all know he doesn’t think it’s funny. Nobody likes being bullied on physical appearance.

The jokes are probably taking less of a toll than the concern. As we can see, he was not as gracious on this front. If people think they are doing him a service in expressing worry, they are mistaken. It’s emasculating. A grown man does not want to be coddled by the nation he is trying to lead.

Chris Christie deserves a fair shot. Does his weight affect his job performance as governor? If not, then move on to the actual questions. Do we like his policies? Is he in touch with American citizens? Is he morally upright?

Let it go, America. Ruining Christie’s leadership abilities by crushing his self-esteem will benefit no one. Let’s not forget that William Howard Taft couldn’t even fit in the bathtub.

Thrall is a sophomore majoring in journalism and film.