A History of the Persuasiveness of Height

In light of bytwerk's insightful comment about the role of height in persuasion, I wanted to make some comments. After examining how height has played out historically, some interesting observations emerge (see the chart of the height of U.S. presidential candidates).

U.S Presidents and Their Opponents Since the Ubiquity of Television

1948
Harry S. Truman (D) 5’ 9”
Thomas E. Dewey (R) 5’ 8”
Difference 1”

1952
Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) 5’ 10 1/2”
Adlai Stevenson (D) 5’ 10”
Difference 1/2”

1956
Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) 5’ 10 1/2”
Adlai Stevenson (D) 5’ 10”
Difference 1/2”

1960
John F. Kennedy (D) 6’ 0”
Richard M. Nixon (R) 5’ 11 1/2”
Difference 1/2”

1964
Lyndon Johnson (D) 6’ 3”
Barry Goldwater (R) 6’ 0”
Difference 3”

1968
Richard M. Nixon (R) 5’ 11 1/2”
Hubert H. Humphrey (D) 5’ 11 1/2”
Difference 0″

1972
Richard M. Nixon (R) 5’ 11 1/2”
George McGovern (D) 6’ 1”
Difference - 1 1/2 ”

1976
Jimmy Carter (D) 5’ 9”
Gerald R. Ford (R) 6’ 1”
Difference - 4”

1980
Ronald Reagan (R) 6’ 1”
Jimmy Carter (D) 5’ 9”
Difference 4”

1984
Ronald Reagan (R) 6’ 1”
Walter F. Mondale (D) 5’ 10”
Difference 3”

1988
George H. W. Bush (R) 6’ 2”
Michael Dukakis (D) 5’ 8”
Difference 6”

1992
William J. Clinton (D) 6’ 2”
George H. W. Bush (R) 6’ 2”
Difference 0”

1996
William J. Clinton (D) 6’ 2”
Robert Dole (R) 6’ 1”
Difference 1”

2000
George W. Bush (R) 5’ 11”
Albert Gore (D) 6’ 1”
Difference -2”

2004
George W. Bush (R) 5’ 11”
John Kerry (D) 6’ 4”
Difference -5”

• Over the past 60 years, since the commonality of TV, the candidate who is shorter has only won four times (twice being George W. Bush). Although there are so many other factors and nobody consciously votes for the taller candidate, it does appear that height is associated with persuasiveness in presidential elections.
  

• In the 2004 election, George Bush was 5 inches shorter than his opponent John Kerry. I specifically remember hearing stories about the Kerry and Bush campaigns arguing about whether George Bush would be able to stand on a step behind the podium in the debates in order to conceal the height difference. (I cannot find the original article about this, some interesting comments in the following articles: Columbia.edu, New York Times).
  

(The adjusted height of the candidates).



(The actual height difference at the podium).