SIZE DOES MATTER

Kerry to Win Easily...

by Larry S. Rolirad

Polls, pundits and politics. Had enough? Well, folks, you can forget all of political rhetoric you have been hearing from both sides of the political spectrum. Toss it. Chunk it. It is no longer relevant.

What does matter is a one hundred year statistical record which fairly well confirms a win this November for Senator John Kerry.

In the last one hundred years in US history the tallest presidential candidates received more popular votes in 88% of the elections, and won 84% of the time. This year's election pits presidential contender, Senator John F. Kerry at a whopping height of 6 foot 4 inches against President George W. Bush, who's height is a 'paltry' 5 feet 11 inches. Since the shorter candidate for president lost 84% of the time since 1904, President Bush's chances of winning in 2004 appear very slim.

The last time we had a president as tall as Kerry's 6 foot 4 inches frame it was 140 years ago, and the president was Abraham Lincoln. If Kerry wins in November he will match our tallest president's height.

Since 1904, only three times has the shorter candidate received more popular votes in the election. The first happened in the 1940 election where presidential challenger, Wendell L. Willkie at 6' 2 1/2" lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt at 6' 2". The other two shorter candidates who managed to buck the odds and win the most popular votes were Richard M. Nixon at 5' 11 1/2" and Jimmy E. Carter at 5' 9 1/2", in years 1972 and 1976; respectively.

There are several other statistics that spell doom for another Bush win in this year's election. GW Bush is the first president to preside over a net loss of jobs during his watch since President Herbert Hoover, seventy-two years earlier. Under Hoover, the net loss of jobs was a whopping negative 9.0 percent. Under Bush, the loss of jobs was a negative 0.8 percent. No other presidents in the past hundred years has had a net loss of jobs. Only Presidents Hoover and Bush share that dubious "distinction".

Like Herbert Hoover, President Bush is a republican incumbent president who facing a taller challenger for reelection. President Hoover at 5' 11" lost to challenger Franklin D. Roosevelt at 6' 2'. And President Bush is facing Senator John Kerry, a challenger who is a whopping 6' 4".

There are a lot of similarities between Bush and Hoover. Both men share the same height at 5 foot 11 inches. Both men were republicans. Both men were incumbents when they faced taller opponents. And Hoover had two sons (Herbert Clark Hoover and Allan Henry Hoover) while Bush had two daughters (Barbara and Jenna). There is a certain Yin and Yang about this. GW Bush is even a distant cousin to Herbert Hoover, but related nevertheless. Samuel Prescott Bush, George W. Bush's great grandfather, was an Ohio manufacturer who was also a close advisor to President Herbert Hoover. And if President Bush is defeated, he will share the same distinction with President Hoover as both being one-term presidents.

Another curious connection between Presidents Hoover and Bush occurs if you add up all of the digits in the year republican President Hoover lost, or "1932", the total is "six", or 1+ 9+3 +2 =15, then add the digits in "15", or 1+5=6. Now add up the digits in the current year in which Bush is running for office, or "2004", you get the same common number, or 2+0+0+4=6.

The same number "6" is also common to both presidents in one other way. Herbert Clark Hoover contains 6 vowels, Herbert (2) Clark (1) Hoover (3), or 2+1+3=6; as does George Walker Bush, George (3) Walker (2) Bush (1), or 3+1=6.

Herbert Hoover was born in 1874 and GW Bush in 1946. If you add all of the digits in each birth year the total is 20 for each president, Herbert Hoover, 1+8+7+4=20, and GW Bush, 1+9+4+6=20.

Lastly, if Kerry wins he will match Lincoln's height as the tallest presidents in our history. Both Lincoln and Kerry were 6 foot 4 inches. Abe Lincoln and Senator Kerry share another similarity. With a Kerry win he will match Lincoln's age when he was elected in 1864. Lincoln was 59 in the 1864 election and Kerry will be 59 at the time of the 2004 election.

The statistics don't lie. My money is on a Senator John Kerry win.



1904

Theodore Roosevelt (R) 5'10" TALLER WINS

Alton B. Parker (D) 5' 9"

1908

William H. Taft (R) 6'0" TALLER WINS

William J. Bryan (D) 5' 10"

1912

Woodrow Wilson (D) 5' 11" TALLER WINS

Theodore Roosevelt (P) 5' 10"

1916

Woodrow Wilson (D) 5' 11" TALLER WINS

Charles E. Hughes (R) 5' 10"

1920

Warren G. Harding (R) 6' 0" TALLER WINS

James M. Cox (D) 5' 10"

1924

Calvin Coolidge (R) 5' 10" TALLER WINS

John W. Davis (D) 5' 9"

1928

Herbert Hoover (R) 5' 11" TALLER WINS

Alfred E. Smith (D) 5' 10"

1932

Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) 6' 2" TALLER WINS

Herbert Hoover (R) 5' 11"

1936

Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) 6' 2" TALLER WINS

Alfred M. Landon (R) 6' 0"

1940

Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) 6' 2" SHORTER WINS

Wendell L Willkie (R) 6' 2 1/2"

1944

Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) 6' 2" TALLER WINS

Thomas E. Dewey (R) 5' 8"

1948

Harry S Truman (D) 5' 9" TALLER WINS

Thomas E. Dewey (R) 5' 8"

1952

Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) 5' 10 1/2" TALLER WINS

Adlai Stevenson (D) 5' 10"

1956

Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) 5' 10 1/2" TALLER WINS

Adlai Stevenson (D) 5' 10"

1960

John F. Kennedy (D) 6' 0" TALLER WINS

Richard M. Nixon (R) 5' 11 1/2"

1964

Lyndon B. Johnson (D) 6' 1" TALLER WINS

Barry Goldwater (R) 6' 0"

1968

Richard M. Nixon (R) 5' 11 1/2" TALLER WINS

Hubert H. Humphrey (D) 5' 11"

George C. Wallace (I) 5' 10"

1972

George McGovern (D) 6' 1"

Richard M. Nixon (R) 5' 11 1/2" SHORTER WINS

1976

Gerald Ford (R) 6' 0"

Jimmy E. Carter (D) 5' 9 1/2" SHORTER WINS

1980

Ronald W. Reagan (R) 6' 1" TALLER WINS

Jimmy E. Carter (D) 5' 9 1/2"

1984

Ronald W. Reagan (R) 6' 1" TALLER WINS

Walter Mondale (D) 5' 11"

1988

George HW Bush (R) 6' 1 1/2" TALLER WINS

Michael Dukakis (D) 5' 8"

1992

Bill J. Clinton (D) 6' 2 1/2" TALLER WINS

George HW Bush (R) 6' 1 1/2"

Ross Perot (I) 5' 7"

1996

Bill J. Clinton (D) 6' 2 1/2" TALLER WINS

Bob Dole (R) 6' 1"

Ross Perot (I) 5' 7"

2000

Al Gore (D) 6' 1" *Most Popular Votes/Lost

George W. Bush (R) 5' 11" SHORTER WINS



2004

John F. Kerry (D) 6' 4 "

George W. Bush (R) 5' 11"



*Gore lost in a controversial election where vote counting was stopped by the republican party, which relied on the republican-laden Supreme Court to appoint GW Bush.



The article may be republished as long as the author is clearly credited.