Move over Arnold, this government official with a bodybuilding political figure on the block.

It may be a topic you’ve come across before now, but that’s not changing the facts. Bruce J. Oreck, the U.S. Ambassador to Finland is a beast of a man. The kind of shape that the ambassador is in makes you wonder why the hell all our other political figures don’t find the time to get into the gym. Oreck is no random boob that just happened to find himself in the role. He’s a well educated man whose demeanor has always been that of the everyman, someone that can relate to the average Joe. He has a Juris Doctorate as well as a masters in taxation law and has written several books on the subject. So much for the whole bodybuilders are morons angle that so many people try to associate with lifters. Oreck’s position and educational background has got us thinking on the interesting possibilities. Would we respect our political leaders if they were massively muscled like Oreck?

Yeah, the notion sounds a bit random, we’ll even go so far as calling it a slight bit crazy, but being honest you’ve got to admire a man that has been charged with as daunting a task as being a U.S. Ambassador who somehow finds time to get into the gym and pack on the muscle. Think about it. That kind of person promotes health and fitness while at the same time operating from a position of power.

Also, and this is just facts, you’re probably going to be more intimidated by a guy who looks big enough to kick your ass with relative ease than a skinny looking wimp who looks like they’ve never lifted a weight in their lives. Does anyone feel intimidated when an overweight, out of shape stuffy politician tries to threaten you from a position of power? Sure, they have power, they have influence, but you somehow find yourself thinking that you could crush this person if you bumped into them in a dark alley. That’s not really the name of the game when it comes to politics, but it would get a lot more helpful bills passed just through physical presence alone.

No one can deny that bodybuilding was one of the major reasons Arnold Schwarzenegger was able to become the Governor of California, that and his star status. There’s no way in hell that if you saw Arnold looming over you with his massive size, telling you what laws were going into action, that you’d have the balls to argue against the man. If more of these politicians would hit the bench and squat rack in between giving speeches you’d definitely see a new found respect for these figures, at the very least on a personal level.

So what do you think? Would politicians hitting the heavy weights actually change your perception? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.