The Measure of a President

06opchart950

The Measure of a President: During the Presidential campaign, much has been made of Barack Obama’s slender physique, with some commentators going so far as to argue that he is too thin for most Americans to relate to him. Does candidate height and weight play a role in electoral success? With Mr. Obama and John McCain set to square off in the second of three presidential debates tomorrow, it seemed worth taking a look through recent history.

7 Comments leave a comment below

  1. Do you have a larger version of that?

  2. Thanks for posting our Op-Chart from today’s New York Times. A larger version can be found at the Times site: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/10/06/opinion/06opchart.html

  3. Wow, this is really cool. I didn’t realize that Kerry was that tall. I think history is on Obama’s side.

    GoBama: http://tinyurl.com/6xr3b7

  4. According to the White House’s own website, George W. Bush is 5’11”, not 6’0″. That is as close to the horse’s mouth as you can get:

    http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/presidents/georgewbush.html

  5. Most of those heights are hilariously wrong – Jimmy Carter 6 feet one? Are you nuts?

  6. It’s funny Obama is only a little taller than Mccain, Yet they scaled him down to look like a little boy.

  7. It’s funny Obama is only a little taller than Mccain, Yet they scaled him down to look like a little boy.