2008: A big man for a big job

Anybody who still doubts Fred Thompson will be the next president should consider this: he's 6'7", and the tallest candidate almost always wins.

This held true even in 2000, when 6'1" Al Gore ran against 5'11" George W. Bush. If you think back, you'll recall that Gore won.

Harder to explain is the outcome in 2004, when 6'4" John Kerry ran against Bush, but it has to be said in his defense that Kerry managed to overcome many advantages that year on the road to defeat (also, let's not forget that there were disputes about the vote in 2004, too [2004 United States presidential election controversy and irregularities], with the states of Florida and Ohio certifying returns that varied nearly 20% from exit polling [2004 United States presidential election controversy, exit polls]).

Parenthetically, at his August 2001 physical, Bush was supposedly 6' tall (Health and Medical History of George W. Bush), but the doctors probably just rounded up to make him seem more presidential. Medical spin. USA Today says that Bush is 5'11 3/4" (Time-tested formulas suggest both Bush and Kerry will win on Nov. 2) and Bush's much-discussed National Guard records listed him at 5'11" in his mid-20s. He doesn't appear to have grown any since then.