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Politics is frequently compared to a sport, if not a bloodsport. So it makes sense that candidates would think it advantageous to portray themselves as being in 鈥渇ighting shape.鈥�

But in vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan鈥檚 case, that image is now teetering on the edge of caricature.

We suppose some supporters may find the new of Congressman Ryan in full 鈥�P90X鈥� workout mode flattering. After all, there鈥檚 no disputing the fact that the congressman is pretty ripped. Drudge 鈥� an outlet that鈥檚 clearly sympathetic to the Romney-Ryan ticket 鈥� even chose to prominently display one of the shots of Ryan pumping iron Thursday morning.

But we suspect that many others will find the Ryan photo shoot 鈥� hmmm, how shall we put this 鈥� bordering on hilarious. There鈥檚 the backwards baseball cap. The way Ryan locks eyes with the camera as he鈥檚 doing his bicep curls. Our personal favorite is the one where he鈥檚 reaching an arm out and pouting in a pseudo-homeboyish pose.

Maybe he meant it ironically?

It鈥檚 reminiscent, on some level, of the famous photo of Michael Dukakis in the tank. Or those John Kerry windsurfing shots. Those, too, were pictures intended to show off the candidate鈥檚 tough, manly side, but they ended up unintentionally reinforcing a very different message.

The photos are especially jarring, in a way, because Ryan is generally regarded, even by many of his opponents, as a serious guy. We wonder: Did he not have any handlers around telling him that this photo shoot might not be such a good idea? Or is the congressman just so enamored with his own physical prowess that he won鈥檛 listen to naysayers?

Already, the fitness thing has gotten him into more trouble than almost any other topic. He鈥檚 had to correct his own public misstatement about his marathon time (he claimed to have run one in under 3 hours, but later admitted it was more like 4). And questions have been raised about statements he鈥檚 made about his body fat percentage (he told Politico he kept it 鈥渂etween 6 and 8 percent,鈥� which, , would make him fitter than most Tour de France cyclists), and his mountain-climbing prowess.

Of course, to some extent, exercise and sports shots are a staple of campaign imagery. It鈥檚 a way of sending two messages at once: The candidate is strong and healthy, and is a 鈥渞egular guy.鈥� But sometimes, those pictures can backfire. In 2008, Barack Obama鈥檚 campaign was happy to show him playing basketball 鈥� but probably wished they hadn鈥檛 let the press .

Back in 2007, when he was running against the older John McCain, Mitt Romney devoted to footage of himself jogging. This time around, however, he hasn鈥檛 really emphasized his sporting side as much (other than those also-questionable shots of him riding on the back of Ann Romney鈥檚 jet ski).

So Ryan has had the exercise-guru mantle to himself.

Frankly 鈥� even putting aside the questions about Ryan鈥檚 odd exaggerations 鈥� we鈥檙e not sure voters really want a candidate who seems too into his own fitness. Most Americans fall more on the sedentary side of the ledger, and while they may not want a couch-potato candidate, they also don鈥檛 want to feel bad about themselves by comparison. And they tend not to warm to people who repeatedly boast about how in-shape they are.

But, clearly, Ryan believes his fitness gives him an edge. Who knows, maybe at the debate tonight he'll challenge Vice President Joe Biden to an arm-wrestling contest? Or maybe he鈥檒l drop down and do some one-armed pushups, like Jack Palance at the Oscars?

We'll say this: It would make it a lot more fun than the last one.