We're all sick and tired of looking at Russian former president Vladimir Putin topless fishing, going horse back riding, practicing judo, wrestling with bears, etc. We decided to have a look at the American former and current presidents in their shirtless edition and we found some great photos from their holidays and from pool parties. I have to admit most of them look pretty good.
We'll begin with America's current and 44th president, Barak Obama. This is a picture of him playing football, taken during his summer vacation in Hawaii and it set a new standard for the body politic in the Oval Office.
As the skipper of the PT 109 during World War II, Lt. John F. Kennedy was occasionally photographed out of uniform. Two decades later, as the president of the United States, when JFK went for a swim in Santa Monica, he showed that he could still make waves.
News flash—though Gerald Ford was routinely mocked on Saturday Night Live for being hopelessly clumsy, he was arguably the best athlete ever to occupy the White House. The star center on the University of Michigan’s two-time national championship football team, Ford was also an avid golfer and skier until very late in life. He also kept in shape by swimming—and was responsible for building the outdoor White House pool and cabana.
For young Hollywood actors like Ronald Reagan, taking shirtless shots was practically a job requirement. Three decades later, as a candidate for California governor (and later as president), Reagan showed that he still looked great in a suit.
Though no one ever thought of Richard Nixon as a particularly hunky president, back in 1957 the then-vice president showed a hint of chest hair while vacationing in Key Biscayne, Florida. But true to his Watergate-era persona, he insisted on covering up.
As president, LBJ was renowned for shocking the press corps with TMI. Back in 1967, while recuperating from gallbladder surgery, Johnson famously lifted up his shirt so reporters could see his scar. The shocking image prompted one reader to write to The New York Times: "God forbid he should have a hemorrhoidectomy!"
George Washington may be the father of our country, but in Horatio Greenough’s topless 12-ton sculpture to commemorate the centenary of his birth, it’s more like “who’s your daddy?†While many appreciated seeing Washington in all his buff glory, others were put off by the presidential six-pack. As one resident of the nation’s capital said at the time: “This magnificent production of genius does not seem to be appreciated at its full value in this metropolis.†source
