Using height as a racist filter.

[The Backlash Cometh]

I think Chris Matthews showed us a hurdle last night that needs to be dealt with, and Edwards would be the man tall enough to jump it. Because, you see, most hispanic men and women would consider Edwards of normal height, so, if Chris Matthews is trying to plant seeds that Edwards is "small," which is just as bad, if not worse than saying he's short, so that it tweaks the minds of superficial Americans, well, then, it sets a trend that very few hispanic people will be able to overcome from birth.

I don't think Chris Matthews is racist, but I think he inadvertently stepped into an area which can potentially be used in a racist way by subliminally, or maybe not so subliminally, sending a message that American presidents must be tall. So, I hope hispanics are listening, because if the superficial Chris Matthews wants to make this next election all about height, as he helped make the Bush-Gore election all about suits and drinking buddies, then I'm here to say that Edwards needs to win to break this country's superficiality barrier. Because, until that happens, there are large segments of the population which cannot grow up believing they can be president and all for the wrong reasons.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Thinking less of short people of all races isn't bad enough? nt

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. It's payback time for that Short People song!

God, how I would love to make this an issue to shove it down Matthew's throat.

[Captain Hilts]

3. He really should get kicked in the butt for it. Folks made fun of Dukakis, who, to his credit...

didn't give a damn about the height issue.

I will say this: GWB is listed at 5'11", a more than respectable height, and Al Gore at 6'2". But at the debates, GWB was as tall. I'm convinced he wore lifts.

And GWB is the first case that the shorter candidate 'won'. Kerry was taller too.

So, people are naturally inclined to trust taller people as more decisive and mature. Amazing in this day and age. Pres. Bush is just confirming that attitude.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. What people are more inclined to trust taller people?

Anglo-Americans? Because this certainly isn't a necessary trait in latin America. Latin Americans would prefer an eloquent speaker and an educated one. In fact, in my time, they would have surrendered to a well educated poet, if given the chance. That was, of course, before all that CIA meddling.

[Captain Hilts]

6. Psych studies have shown, for example, that teachers treat taller students...

with more respect and assume they're more intelligent and mature.

The taller presidential candidate has always won in the 20th Century, until GWB.

I don't know what studies have been done in Latin America. The same pattern might be true among Latins. I don't know. But they're a diverse bunch - just look at Brasil. I'd be hesitant to make a generalization on attitudes towards this issue.

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. Brazil & Argentina are two countries which I would not use in a study

if what you want to do is generalize about latin Americans. Argentina would be excluded because they still think they're a suburb of Europe and Brazil because it has a far different mix of population (stronger in Portugese and African descendants) than the others which are primarily Native Indian and Spanish.

From there, I can tell you that size does not matter. Where American meddling has not interfered greatly, and in that I'm suggesting that quite a few of the military dictators were CIA trained, civilian presidents have been educated and eloquent speakers.

[BlooInBloo]

12. Yip!Yip!Yip! ...

... What I hear when short guys talk.

:rofl:

[bryant69]

5. I don't think it's just Hispanics who have to fear Matthews superficiality

I mean I get the point of what you are saying, but let's face it, when a pathetic guy like Matthews is determining who's presidential, it's bad for all of us, not just Hispanics. Because, to Matthews, a life long actor and phony like Thompson is a genuine big hearted America, while Al Gore is a phoney and John Kerry is a coward.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. Well, that is a conclusion you all have to make for yourselves.

Being hispanic, I have a pretty good idea of how hispanics would feel about it but I didn't want to overreach and mention EVERYONE, because, quite frankly, it probably is true that Anglo-Americans may have been conditioned to trust taller people. From the Japanese surrender to General MacArthur, to Super Models to John Wayne. Tall is fed as the ideal body frame. You all have to make that an issue if you think it's important enough to fight against.

[bryant69]

13. Again, what is the bigger problem?

I think it is the cuperficial nature of the Matthews/mainstream media way of dealing with Democratic politics. Spending years on Bush's 400 haircuts while ignoring similar stories about Romney. Asking which candidate you'd want to have a beer with, and then deciding it's Bush. That sort of thing is more corrosive to our Democracy over the long term.

Bryant

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. Then use it against them.

They opened a door. They're suggesting that "small" or, in other words, short people, don't make good presidents. I say you show them otherwise. At least, make Matthews look like a buffoon for making that statement without following it up with, "Well, it's true. Most of the voters in America are superficial. I don't like it, but it's true."

[never_get_over_it]

9. How friggin tall is Edwards

personally to me Edwards is by far the most attractive candidate of either party actually not only is he attractive this girl thinks he's HOT - but even so he is my second choice right now behind Kucinich who I believe is shorter than Edwards and NOT HOT - at least not HOT LOOKING but Kucinich is HOT HOT HOT on the issues

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. And to a thinking American, the qualities you mention are the only

ones that should matter.

[H2O Man]

11. In this part of

NYS, one of the "qualities" that town supervisors look for when determining who to hire as DSS commissioner is heighth. I'm serious. And it isn't due to race.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. I know. I'm not saying that the prejudice doesn't exists, I'm saying that the

prejudice is going to have an obvious negative impact on nationalities which, genetically, are not Aryan tall. Thus, it's a terrible precedent to set as a requirement for president, even if that "requirement" is subliminal. Because you're planting a seed that tall is "normal" for presidents. And that's just a start. Matthews is famous for picking up on these superficial tags. They takes away from what's inside a candidate's head and heart and leaves them vulnerable to spiteful pundits who pick up on outside features which shouldn't matter to anyone. That's precisely what we want to destroy. We want people to rise above their prejudices, stop looking at the cleavage, and start listening to the message.

If you think the masses aren't ready for someone to expose these superficialities, think again. In Latin America they're very pissed off at Telemundo and all the other latin oriented networks that keep giving preferential treatment to actors and actresses who look more European, than latin American with native Indian features.

[treestar]

15. Here, here! Dennis Kucinich thanks you!

And the wife does not have to be shorter than the husband, either!

:rofl:

James Madison could never have been elected these days.

[The Backlash Cometh]

18. My pleasure.

May the best candidate, with the best message win.

[last_texas_dem]

16. Plus, his Edwards comment didn't even make sense

5'9" is average male height, I believe, and I've seen Edwards's height listed as either 5'10" or 5'11". While Edwards may not be tall, Matthews's comment that a man who may be two inches over average height is "small" makes little sense.

[kenny blankenship]

19. Ever see photos of Bush standing next to Vicente Fox?

Ok, Vicente Fox is "Mexican" like I'm Native American, but in a race between Fox and Bush who would the Hispanics of the USA vote for?

Ok, that was not quite fair. It's a trick question since they belong to the same party.

[The Backlash Cometh]

20. No offense, but if George Bush were ever to become president in

a latin American country, he would have only made it through a fixed election. Much like he did in the U.S.A.

[dorkulon]

21. But Matthews is right, American presidents usually are tall.

"Of 43 American presidents, only five have been more than a smidgeon below average height, and the last of those was Benjamin Harrison, elected in 1888... Most presidents have been several inches above the norm for their times." -Slate.com

Matthews was simply commenting on the effect a candidate's size has on his electability, which is pretty much his main area of analysis. Matthews isn't inventing superficial issues, he's just noting that they exist. I think it's a far stretch to call that racist, especially since Matthews thinks nothing of making comments like, "is America ready for a president?" Again, I think even that's a legitimate question, because a substantial portion of the country is indeed racist and/or sexist, and Matthews' job isn't really to pass moral judgment on voters, but to gauge their fickle whims.

In fact, the idea that the only white male frontrunner's height could be a problem for him is, if not encouraging, at least pretty ironic. A white male dwarf could have beaten a black man and a woman a few decades ago.

[The Backlash Cometh]

22. Don't give Matthews more credit than he deserves.

If it's his opinion that American voters tend to vote on superficial features, and he's just commenting on those superficial features as you state, then he should clarify that. But instead, he says it in a way that CONFIRMS the prejudice. There's no disclaimer that he's just making an observation. You get him mad enough, or frustrated enough and Matthew's tone reveals that those ARE HIS prejudices as well.

Now, going back to the statistics of previous presidents. I absolutely do believe that Anglo-Americans have been conditioned to favor certain prejudices over others. White, Male, Tall. Certainly those features are dominant in previous presidents. But what I'm here to say is that those features don't carry much weight among Americans who come from nationalities where tallness isn't the norm. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say that it's a negative because tall people come across as over-bearing which is not a feature that is desired from countries where humility and community co-operation is essential.