Are you a public official who's concerned that your not-so-svelte figure might be an obstacle to your campaign for a higher office? Don't want to waste your time with Mike Huckabee's boring ol' diet-and-exercise plan?
Then you need the Dean Hrbacek Miracle Weight-Loss Plan!
Hrbacek, a former mayor of Sugar Land, TX, is running for Congress. But judging by a flyer sent out by Hrbacek's campaign, you'd think he was running a marathon.
See, here's the deal. Hrbacek's not fat, but he's not the thinnest guy around, either.
Last week, though, his campaign sent out a flyer with a photo of a very trim Hrbacek -- or, as it turned out, Hrbacek's head Photoshopped onto someone else's very trim body.
This week, Hrbacek admitted the photo was a fake, although he wouldn't address why his camp had doctored the image. (A campaign aide had previously said the image was faked because Hrbacek didn't have time for a photo shoot.)
Photoshopping yourself in campaign literature just seems like a bad idea all around. The benefits are questionable, and you're just opening yourself up to a chorus of "if we can't trust him on this, how can we trust him in office?".
Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach has written about a range of topics, including social policy issues and urban planning and design. Originally from Tennessee, he joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com 
Written and compiled by staff writers and editors, GOVERNING View is an on-the-ground, and sometimes behind-the-scenes, look at the topics we're covering in print and online. From notes on what's up in statehouses, county courthouses and city halls, to encounters with people, places and things, GOVERNING View is a window into the side of state and local government you don't always see.
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