Who's Too Short to Be President?

USNews ^ | Nicki Schwab

[VinL]

If Google search results are any indicator, Americans want to know how the presidential candidates measure up – literally. Among the most popular candidate-related queries plugged into the Internet search engine are ones about the heights of the White House hopefuls.

There's a bigger history to this curiosity, and it's been deemed the "Presidential Height Index" by political scientists, campaign reporters and the like. You see, since 1900, the taller guy has won the presidential election 19 times, while the shorter candidate has won just eight times – and that includes the year 2000 in which George W. Bush, the shorter candidate, didn't win the popular vote against the taller Al Gore. In two of these elections, candidates were the same height.

This phenomenon has led to headlines like "McCain's tiny problem," which appeared on a Guardian post in the run-up to 2008 that discussed how the Arizona senator's small stature could mean a loss against the taller Barack Obama. Similar stories were written in 2012 about how Mitt Romney might actually win because he was taller than Obama.

Now, in this cycle, pundits are already fretting about some of the candidates' heights. "Rubio and Paul are as tall as my iPod," conservative talking head Ann Coulter said on Fox News, according to the International Business Times. "You can't run a short candidate," she continued. Over at Bloomberg Politics, Paul was labeled as having a Michael Dukakis problem: Like Paul, Dukakis – a presidential loser – measured 5 feet 8 inches tall. Marco Rubio's a bit taller at 5 feet 10 inches, according to his campaign.

It seems that Americans have a bit of Goldilocks syndrome when it comes to height, too: Candidates must be not too short and not too tall, but just right. Heights for the 2016 presidential field.

Phil Reisman, a columnist for The Journal News in New York, tried out this theory when he opined that George Pataki, the former New York governor and current GOP candidate, is just too tall to be president. Pataki, by far the tallest candidate running, clocks in at a cool 6 feet 5 inches. Reisman noted the other giants that "(pardon the pun) fell short," including former Rep. Mo Udall, D-Ariz., former Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J., and Secretary of State John Kerry, whose 6-foot-4-inch stature couldn't beat the 5-foot-11-inch Bush in 2004.

Gregg Murray, an associate professor of political science at Texas Tech University, has been studying physical components as they relate to political preference for a while now. Most recently he looked at height, weight and body mass index, or BMI, a measurement calculated from weight and height. He found there's an instinctual preference for leaders who are more "physically formidable," especially in times of strife.

"It's sort of this flash impression that people have," Murray says. Tallness is a factor, but also voters could be looking for candidates who simply look healthy and strong. "The BMI measure was right at the top end of normal weight – it was like right below being overweight," Murray explains.

This is good news for someone like former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who's 6-foot-1 and in good shape. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who recently shed major pounds, also could benefit. "My impression is that people do not perceive Christie as unhealthy," Murray says. The 6-foot-3-inch Jeb Bush has been slimming down to fit into this category, too. "He clearly realized he needed to clean up his appearance a little bit," says Murray.

On the flip side, if voters are drawn to the "formidable," it could hurt a candidate like Bernie Sanders.

"Because he's an old guy, let's face it," Murray says.

And then there's the elephant in the room – the women. Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina will look the most diminutive on the debate stages, standing at 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 6 inches, respectively. Since no woman has ever won her party's nomination, there's no true precedent to look at regarding height, but Murray gave it a guess.

"I think it's like issues – some issues are stronger for one party or the other, and the same thing for male versus female leaders. Sometimes the context of the race is better for women than for men," he says. "In a tough situation of international crisis, with people shooting at each other, I think women are going to be at a disadvantage."

[Still Thinking]

Robert Reich? Course he’s also too stupid and too collectivist to be POTUS, so he’s like thrice disqualified.

[Still Thinking]

This phenomenon has led to headlines like "McCain's tiny problem," which appeared on a Guardian post in the run-up to 2008 that discussed how the Arizona senator's small stature could mean a loss against the taller Barack Obama.

I don't think McBackStabbingAisleReachingRINOAsshat's "tiny problem" refers to his height.

[ansel12]

The day that I was trying to find out, I didn’t, but I got the impression that he was about 5’8” to hopefully a 5’10”, but I came away thinking that he was not tall.

[Paleo Conservative]

I have no idea how tall Dewhurst is. I’ve never met him. Perhaps that’s why he’s lost runoffs in 2 consecutive election cycles for 2 different statewide offices.

Ted Cruz was very energetic and very well organized in running for 2 as statewide offices in a very populous geographically large state. He talked to lots of groups and talked with thousands of people throughout Texas, while Dewhurst stayed in Austin and talked to insiders and lobbyists.

[Red Steel]

while Dewhurst stayed in Austin and talked to insiders and lobbyists.

A recipe for losing against an active campaign.

[Paleo Conservative]

Cruz’s poll numbers and the buzz surrounding his campaign scared off several of his would be challengers. Several high profile candidates who said they were running for that senate seat ended up not even filing for that race.

[Ken H]

James Madison was 5'4".

It's not the size of the dog in the fight that counts. It's the the size of the fight in the dog.

[Moonman62]

Grant was on the short side. His wife said he weighed 135 pounds when he was president.

[boop]

"Grant was on the short side. His wife said he weighed 135 pounds when he was president."

I think I read somewhere that Andrew Jackson was tall, but very slender, as in the 130lbs. range.

But you STILL wouldn't want to mess with him.

The man who tried to assassinate him got his azz whipped by Jackson and his cane.

Jackson had to be pulled off the guy, or he probably would have beaten him to death.

[Politicalkiddo]

“The man who tried to assassinate him got his azz whipped by Jackson and his cane.”

I was reading about that the other day. The mental image was quite hilarious. Another favorite fact of mine about Jackson was that he taught his parrot to swear and it swore at his funeral and had to be “escorted” out.

[RockyTx]

is Hillary really 5-7?
...............

so what tricks will the networks use
to make Hillary look to be
the same height as her opponent?

[Old Yeller]

You have to have a full head of hair too. Sorry Scott Walker.

[9YearLurker]

I thought for sure they’d bring up tiny Rand Paul.

[mad_as_he$$]

Fleming was a wise man!

[9YearLurker]

My guess is they reached out to all the candidates, and rather than fudge his height, as Rubio and Paul have done, Cruz just didn’t respond.

[9YearLurker]

Which may be why Cruz’s chance is now, before he loses more of what he has.

[surrey]

I really find it difficult to believe that Hillary is 5’7. She looks like a munchkin. if she’s been asked her height she no doubt lied.

[VinL]

Dewhurst is well over 6 feet. From photos, looks about 6-5.

[Politicalkiddo]

Looking through his Facebook posts, I found several pictures of him next to other people. I suck at judging height, so I cannot tell one way or another...

[onyx]

Donald Trump- Height:
6' 3" (1.91 m)
6ft 2in (188 cm)
6' 1¼" (186 cm)