The Great American Fallacy

   Lurking behind a debate opponent and staying in camera range as a way to emphasize his height, mocking another as "Little Marco," and styling a TV news anchor as "Little George" Stephanopoulos, as well as rejecting a suggestion that he has "little hands" while emphasizing that there is "no problem there" with the size of another portion of his anatomy, all show a fixation on size, demonstrating a clear obsession with The Great American Fallacy, that bigger equals better.
   According to this line of thinking, a larger physical size means more importance, and the current president of the United States seems to be obsessed with the notion that since he is taller that others, he is therefore better, more powerful and perhaps even more intelligent.
   And it shows in his claim of a "landslide" election victory, the "greatest margin in American history," when a quick look in any book of facts easily falsifies that claim, especially regarding his loss in the popular vote.
   There's nothing new in this pattern of behavior. He has defended it in his book, "The Art of the Deal" as "harmless exaggeration," or "truthful hyperbole."
   That may be a useful tactic for a salesman's pitch, but when it comes to government policy, it quickly crosses the line that separates truth from fiction.
   More important, the constant reference to size, that bigger equals better, becomes an effort to cover up a basic sense of personal insecurity, a strong inner lack of confidence in one's own ability, whether physical, intellectual, political or moral.
   Every country needs leaders who are confident in themselves and their abilities, but feel no need for constant bragging to make up for their incompetence. And in a political world, falling victim to the fallacy that bigger equals better can quickly lead to violence on an international scale.
   It's called war.

   And if you really care about such things, consider this: Harry Truman was 5'8", Winston Churchill, 5'6", John Adams, 5'7", Benjamin Harrison, 5'6", and James Madison, 5'4". Abraham Lincoln was the tallest of American presidents, at 6'4", followed by Lyndon Johnson at 6'3". Donald Trump is 6'2", along with five others.
   Hillary Clinton stands 5'5" tall, about average for an American woman.

   And regardless of what Hollywood shows about the size of troopers in the U.S. Cavalry, the maximum height allowed was 5'7". Bigger than that was too hard on the horses.

   George Stephanopoulos, by the way, stands 5'5" tall. Now why is that important?