Standing Tall

One feature of last night's debate that I was particularly interested in was how often the cameras showed both Bush and Kerry in the same shot. Kerry is much taller than Bush, and Bush has a habit of hunching over the lectern slightly when he wishes to emphasize his sincerity, which makes him seem even a bit shorter than he actually is.

It turns out, for whatever reason, that the taller of the two presidential candidates usually wins the election. I am informed that this trend goes back all the way to the beginning of the country's history, although, if true, I don't know how anyone could have found a candidate shorter than James Madison. The last exception to this general trend occurred in 2000, when George Bush assumed the Presidency rather than Al Gore (but of course we all know who *really* won that election.)