Congressman Nadler, Closet Superhero?

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, center, at the Feast of the Tabernacles event at the Capitol. (Ron Sachs, CNS)

Maybe he gained a lot of chutzpah when he lost 100 pounds. Whatever the case, even those who have seen firsthand the incredible transformation of Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) from 338 pounds to somewhere just upwards of 200 may still be surprised to learn that he can scale high walls like a pole vaulter.

Nadler's athleticism stunned folks at this month's Feast of Tabernacles, the Jewish Biblical Festival of Sukkot, on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol grounds -- organized by American Friends of Lubavitch's Capitol Hill Jewish Forum.

Rabbi Levi Shemtov, known as the "rabbi of Capitol Hill," got a special permit to erect a makeshift Sukkah, the temporary dwelling that the Bible commands Jews to live in during the weeklong festival. To get to the Sukkah, Nadler either had to scale a three and-a-half foot stone wall or do what most everyone else did: walk all the way to the bottom of the hill to get inside.

Even after his stomach-reduction surgery five years ago, most of us would still assume that the 5-foot-4-and-still-quite-large Nadler would take the easy route. Au contraire.

"Without missing a beat, he just swung his legs over the fence like a teenager -- and mind you, he was wearing a suit -- and he didn't even break a sweat," a GOP attendee of the event, who is now an unofficial Nadler fan, says. "It was amazing to watch."

Nadler's staff pretty much gave a "big woop" eye roll in response to our inquiry about Nadler's impressive wall jumping.

"Congressman Nadler can leap tall fences in a single bound and is more powerful than a locomotive -- at least we like to think so around the office," Nadler spokesman Shin Inouye said.

If there's one person in town who may have reason to worry about Congressman Nadler's Superman-esque ability to beat back roadblocks, it's President Bush.

Because who knows when Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, may decide to hop the White House fence or bust down the doors of the Justice Department to fetch those detainee interrogation memos President Bush has been refusing to turn over to Nadler and his colleagues.

Comments

......."I'M GLAD HE'S ON OUR SIDE!

WAY TO GO NADLER ON LOSING THE WEIGHT WE NEED YOU TO STICK AROUND BUDDY, THE REPUBLICANS HAVE RUINED THE UNITED STATES AND AMERICA NEEDS YOU TO HAMMER THEM!

WHAT A DISASTEROUS RECORD REPUBLICANS HAVE MADE OUT OF THE UNITED STATES, VETOING HEALTH CARE FOR KIDS OF THE WORKING POOR, WHILE SHALING OUT $10 BILLION TO THE OIL COMPANIES WHO ARE ALREADY RAKING IN RECORD PROFITS, AND SQUANDERING HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF TAXPAYERS DOLLARS!

IN CONCLUSION, FOLKS, YOU TOO NADLER, WE ARE GOING TO NEED EVERYONE TO GET INVOLVED IN 08 TO TAKE BACK ALL THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE SO THAT WE CAN GET UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE TO ALL 48 MILLION AMERICAN'S WHO ARE WITHOUT IT, STARTING WITH THE KIDS, AND THEN...
..."WE ARE GOING TO PUT ALOT OF REPUBLICAN....IN......JAIL!

....."TRUE PATRIOTISM, HATES INJUSTICE, IN ITS OWN LAND, MORE, THAN ANYWHERE ELSE."
--CLARENCE DARROW

SINCERELY, TOMMY BIRCHFIELD, VOTER, VET USAF, CLASS 2007 EAST TENN STATE UNIVERSITY
.....Master's Program, ETSU....fall...2007

Posted by: TOM BIRCHFIELD | October 15, 2007 8:20 PM | Report abuse

I am very proud of my Congressman, Representative Nadler.

Posted by: ralphiedawg | October 15, 2007 11:51 PM | Report abuse

Nadler is a complete fraud and one of the major windbag's in the House. His record is a sorry one.

Posted by: g werle | October 16, 2007 6:29 AM | Report abuse

Interesting story, but the cute comment at the end was a bit too cute to be considered professional.
Congressman Nadler is not what you would consider an outstanding example of of a good legislator...
I believe everything happens for a reason.
Usually, the reason is that sombody screwed up.

Posted by: Ray Bay | October 16, 2007 10:34 AM | Report abuse

Yeah, right. What's a religious symbol doing there? Seems El Tubbo's pretty active discouaging other religions' symbols on such terrain. Betcha he gave a second mortgage on the sukka while Rep. Jefferson stowed Prince Bandar's pocket change in its freezer. A thoroughly disgusting individual. He ought to do that and flop into the Gaza Strip. NEWMANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

Posted by: sawargos | October 16, 2007 12:00 PM | Report abuse

Don't know about his being a super hero but he serves in a District where he has a distinguished group of predecessors- Bill Ryan, Bella Abzug, and Ted Weiss-

Posted by: peter | October 16, 2007 12:20 PM | Report abuse

As usual with right-wing trolls, g werle makes a lot of stupid comments about Nadler without any data backing up any of his statements...

All the wingnuts have left is insults....their idiot president has ground this country into the mud with the help of Republican politicians...a sorry record to stand behind.

So they throw baseless smears around rather then deal with the horrifying reality facing them.

Posted by: wagonjak | October 16, 2007 12:29 PM | Report abuse

The article reports Con. Nadler jumped a 3.5 ft. tall wall. Sorry to say, but that doesn't quite qualify for superhero status.

Posted by: 3.5 Ft. is Not Tall | October 16, 2007 2:38 PM | Report abuse

Congressman Jerrold Nadler is nothing but a fraud. He looses a couple of pounds and jumps a 3foot 5 in. wall and suddenly he's considered a hero. There are millions of over weight people in America. The tv show Worlds Biggest Loser is an example. Why don't we praise all of them at the end of the show. Besides its not like Congressman Jerrold Nadler has a very impressive record.

Posted by: Jose Robles | October 18, 2007 9:47 AM | Report abuse

There is nothing mor important at this point of time in our history then to protect our Constitution. This is not a
Republican issue nor is it a Democratic issue it is an American issue. If we continue to lose the protections that The
Constitution gives to all Americans the
terrorists have won and we have lost. We
need Jerry Nadler to do everthing he can to
save the Country even if it means to start
impeachment proceedings against Bush and
Cheney before they continue to do more damage than they already have.With the year that these nuts have left they can do damage that would take generations to
restore. We must protect The Constitution.

Posted by: pinky | October 19, 2007 11:05 AM | Report abuse

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