I have been wondering if McLame is wearing elevated shoes. He is 5'7", but he walks uncomfortably as

[curious one]

if he is in pain and looks almost as tall as Obama. Has anyone noticed that?

[tblue]

1. Is he 5'7"?!!! He is positively PETITE!

I like short men, but man I didn't realize he was that short.

[Diane R]

2. I've been thinking he has lifts in his shoes, too.

[anneboleyn]

3. I have heard this mentioned as a possibility before -- Obama is much taller than McCain -6'3" to 5'7

so it seemed off, though maybe this had something to do with camera angles?

[curious one]

4. I have been observing him. Sometimes he is short and other times he is taller.

So I don't know what to make of it.

[eshfemme]

5. Wow... he's like an inch taller than me.

Is this that bias against shorter men? I remember hearing that practically all of our Presidents were tall men.

[melody]

6. Primates want Alphas to lead them. Alphas are always the tallest

McCain is trying to inflate his own tires to get more mileage out of it.

He's still a washed-up, old politician who is past his prime and damned short to boot.

[girl gone mad]

7. Do we need to go here?

5'7" is only a couple inches below average for American men.

One of my fav. men on the planet, Jon Stewart, in 5'6" and he's definitely an alpha.

ETA: Kerry was 6" taller than Bush, yet he still lost and was called an effete beta, so go figure.

[melody]

9. Yes, we do -- it's at the base of human behavior

It's not an insult ... I'm a short person. My favorite founding father was 5'6" tall. It's not a comment on their worth as humans but the sociobiological response of the human mind.

Kerry had other problems that argued against his Alphaness -- Obama is younger, stronger, smarter and in every way an Alpha. In this case, that's a good thing.

[girl gone mad]

11. McCain's opponents have tried it in past..

and it backfired.

[melody]

17. Tried WHAT in the past?

It's the basis for human behavior. It's always present. It's not a political machination.

[blondeatlast]

19. I don't quite get it either. I've been an Arizonan for 30 years and I've never seen the height issue

broached. It's ridiculous.

[blondeatlast]

18. What opponents? The self-sacrificing Arizona Democrats who've gone up against him? You are WRONG.

They never tried it do it never failed, and you haven't a clue what you are talking about. I've been an Arizonan for 30 years and I know his history well. You are pulling that stuff out of, well, you know.

[neomonkey]

20. Oh Beta Deta LOL

Alphaness (Alphaocity?) in humans is a much more nuanced trait than in primates. It's possible for any man to be Alpha and any man to be Beta. I've known relatively tall men who were Beta as hell, and short men who were Alpha...very much a personality trait.

The correlation you are trying to pin stems from the chicken or egg argument. Is it height that lends to Alphaness because of other's treatment of tall men...or is there an "Alpha" gene intertwined with the height gene? I would have to say that the Alpha gene, if there is such a thing, is independent of the height gene, from my personal observation.

Now then: John McCain, whether he is 5'7" or 6'4", is a turd brain.

[melody]

22. I was making a non-nuanced argument for people not in the field

And of course I'm making a generalization ... in fact I thought I made that fairly clear. It is quite possible for short men to be Alphas and tall men to be Betas.

Oh, christ, never mind ... every time I bring this up as a side comment, I get a ton of offended people trying to argue me out of basic human dynamics. Incidentally, my degree is in cultural anthropology. If you'd like to discuss primate dynamics versus human primate dynamics, I'd be happy to, but we should take it to PM so we don't bore everyone else.

At this point, this is my last reply to the thread. Make your Alpha last reply.

[TheKentuckian]

8. Who cares about his height? He's a small, small man

what a piece of crap!

The vessel doesn't matter because it would still be paper wrapping a rotten fish.

McCain is worth only of contempt.

[Undercurrent]

10. Side by side:

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/09/12/obamamccain_narrowweb__300x383,2.jpg

[curious one]

13. This is a good picture. Look at his knee position to the rest of his leg. BTW 5'7" is not short.

The thing that bothers me is that, this is not a beauty contest. Therefore height should not matter. It is the person who make himself short or tall be his actions.

[Binka]

15. Just Like Little Bush He Is Wearing Platforms

He has at least half an inch on the outside and he must have another inch in the insole. Oh boy even in his heels he is still an inch shorter than me. Nasty little fucker.

[Hekate]

12. #1 McCain had serious injuries all those years ago;#2 he is an old man now;#3 those things catch up

... with you eventually. My guess is his joints are pretty well shot with arthritis, and yes, he is in pain. He can't lift his arms or move them like a normal person, he holds his hands very awkwardly when at rest, and he walks like a stiff old man.

He has multiple health issues, plus age, and some things deserve our compassion. Doesn't mean he should be president, though.

Hekate

[curious one]

14. point taken.

[eridani]

16. When he was Obama's age, he was certainly taller

Osteoporosis hits men too.

[Jennicut]

21. Major platform lifts going on. Obama and Biden are much much taller

I think Obama is 6'2 and Biden is about 6 feet.