# Why the silence on McCain's height? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 8, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-silence-on-mccains-height/462639 "2008-09-08T17:12:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-silence-on-mccains-height/462639/41 "2008-09-09T07:51:50Z")
I honestly never thought about or heard about his height. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a couple of inches shorter now than he was when shot down over Vietnam due to age, malnutrition, and abuse. (Isn’t there a height limit for pilots?) ETA: [[reliable source](http://usversusthem.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/bbdance10.jpg)]John McCain is always lying about his height. He lie about his height all the time. One time Frank Sinatra came in here and sat in this chair. I said Frank ‘you hang out with John McCain, just between me and you, how tall is John McCain?’ You know what Frank told me, he said ‘hey, John McCain is 3 foot 7 inches tall.’ Three foot seven inches tall![/[reliable source](http://usversusthem.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/bbdance10.jpg)] ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-silence-on-mccains-height/462639/42 "2008-09-09T08:34:32Z")
If I’m ever in the same room with McCain I’m going to pat him on the head and call him McGrouchy. I wouldn’t do that to a \*tall \*presidential candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-silence-on-mccains-height/462639/43 "2008-09-09T09:00:27Z")
Admittedly, I’ve only skimmed the thread, so if someone has presented acceptable proof of McCain’s height at 5’7", I’d say something’s wrong with Palin at 5’6". [Here’s](http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20080901/i/r220510973.jpg?) a photo of them hugging. Notice that Palin is wearing high heels that appear to be at least 2’-3" high, so unless McCain’s wearing lifts in his shoes, something I’ve never heard mentioned, he is clearly 3" to 4" taller than she is. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-silence-on-mccains-height/462639/44 "2008-09-10T00:50:09Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > McCain was 6’4" before breaking his legs in the plane crash, after which the Vietnamese torturers slowly removed parts of his shattered legs (and a few vertabrae) trying to get him to talk, but he stood tall (as tall as the fiends would allow him to be, anyway) and that’s why he’s only 5’6" now–you may mock his heroism, and courage, and patriotism all you like, but he gave those 8 inches so you can live as free people today, and he’ll do it again if he needs to (he’s offered to go as low as 4’10") for the U.S. > > Country first! Truth last!! Actually, he’s short from those jowls weighing down his head. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-silence-on-mccains-height/462639/45 "2008-09-10T01:00:22Z")
Well, it doesn’t matter now anyway. He can just ride around on Palin’s shoulders. _“I’m so tall! I am SO TALL!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-silence-on-mccains-height/462639/46 "2008-09-10T05:52:45Z")
In a way I’m surprised this hasn’t come up before–not exactly as presented in this thread–but in terms of general interest. Military pilots don’t, or at least until recently didn’t, tend to be very big people. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of those guys are 5’8" or less. Women, too, although in there case it differentiates them less pronouncedly from average. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-silence-on-mccains-height/462639/47 "2008-09-10T06:21:38Z")
Why should this come up at all? Does this have any relevance to the choice of MCcain. I guess I could bring up the big mole next to Obama’s nose then, right? Fighter pilots were and still are restricted by height. This is no big secret, it is all about ergonomics. We seriously can do better than this people. Attack him on the issues all you want. Height? REALLY? ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-silence-on-mccains-height/462639/48 "2008-09-10T11:57:27Z")
As I stated in post #14, I think a candidate’s height is a stupid thing to base a vote on. **But I brought this subject up because I am interested in understanding how the electorate thinks and feels about a subject that does influence elections.** You’re welcome to join the discussion if you share this interest. If not, no one’s forcing you. The fact that McCain was a pilot is not relevant to the apparent disparity in how the electorate thinks of his height, which people (myself included) seem to have been largely unaware of. It’s not as if people have en masse concluded, “I realize McCain’s short – must be because he was a pilot – so I’ll overlook it”. And pilots aren’t restricted _much_ by height: by my reading of the cites, a male pilot could be as tall as 6’3". My current boss in a former USAF pilot, and he’s 6’0". Finally, I haven’t seen anyone in this thread ‘attacking’ McCain (or any other cadidate) over their height, unless you’re referring to the obviously sarcastic responses. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-silence-on-mccains-height/462639/49 "2008-09-10T21:29:18Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > He used to be taller but the Viet Cong beat him down. He lost an inch for every year he was in captivity…how long was that again? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-silence-on-mccains-height/462639.md?page=2)