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Presidential Height IndexThe Presidential Height Index is a theory that in U.S. presidential elections featuring televised presidential debates, the taller of the two major candidates tends to win, giving rise to the notion that people subconsciously equate height with power in choosing a leader. However, following George W. Bush's two recent victories over taller Democratic opponents, its accuracy has come into question. 1960: 6' John F. Kennedy defeated 5' 11" Richard Nixon. Many attribute Richard Nixon's defeat to his somewhat grim, five o'clock shadowed look, even though he was regarded to be an equally talented orator as Kennedy. In addition, Richard Nixon seemed to stoop a bit, giving the illusion that he was more than an inch shorter than Kennedy. No televised debates were held for the 1964-72 Presidential elections. 1976: 6' 1" incumbent Gerald Ford lost to a much shorter 5' 8" Jimmy Carter. In the 1976 election, televised presidential debates were held for the first time since 1960. 1980: 5' 8" President Jimmy Carter lost to taller candidate Ronald Reagan. 1984: Though he was 6' tall in his prime, Ronald Reagan was 73 years old and 5' 10" at the time of his re-election, the same height as challenger Walter Mondale. Height loss with advanced age is a normal and expected phenomenon. 1988: 6' 2" George H.W. Bush soundly defeated 5' 7" Michael Dukakis. 1992: 6' 1" Bill Clinton defeated incumbent George Bush who, considering the large age difference between the two men, was probably exactly Clinton's height. While Clinton's height is commonly listed as 6' 2" or even 6' 2", this is speculated to be an exaggeration. 1996: Bill Clinton defeated 6' challenger Bob Dole (Dole was 6' 2" in his younger years.) 2000: 5' 10" George W. Bush defeated 6' Al Gore. However, Bush's margin of victory was extremely small, and he failed to win a majority of the popular vote. 2004: The recent election offers little to support the Presidential Height Index as 5' 10" Bush saw a small but certain victory over lanky, 6' 4" John Kerry, who was known for being tall, and was considered by many observers to have towered over Bush in the debates figuratively as well as literally. Out of the nine presidential contests to include televised debates, in only six was there any significant height difference between the Democratic and Republican nominees. Out of these six, the taller candidate won three times, or exactly 50% of the time. Therefore the Presidential Height Index, despite enjoying a certain level of popularity, does not appear to be backed by solid statistical data. However, in support of the theory that height matters in presidential politics, it appears that there never has been a president below average height; average height for an American man was 5' 8" in 1960, and is around 5' 9 1/2" today. Presidents Kennedy through Bush average 6 feet even.
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