The Height of Arrogance and the Arrogance of Height

   The president often belittles opponents with references to their height. And he regularly disparages others with similar comments on other aspects of their personhood. As if the size of his own -- whatever -- is an essential qualification for political office.
   The latest target of this tiresome tirade is Sen. Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, and that's only since Corker spoke in opposition to presidential policies that the guy in the Oval Office dubbed him "Liddle" Bob.
   Earlier, the president belittled Sen. Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, with a similar epithet.
   Reality check: Sens. Corker and Rubio stand about the same height as the average adult man in America today, which is the same as the average cavalry trooper who rode with Gen. George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
   Moreover, that measurement has nothing to do with skills, ability, intellectual capacity, intelligence or empathy. Several of which are lacking in the Overweight Big Mouth who currently occupies the Oval Office.
   And, yes, he is taller than average, at six feet, three inches. (At least, that's what he claims. Other sources put him at six feet, one inch.)
   But he is not the tallest person to be elected president. That label goes to Abraham Lincoln, who stretched to a full six feet, four inches, followed by Lyndon Johnson at six feet, three inches, Thomas Jefferson at six feet, two and half inches, and four other presidents at six feet, two inches.
   The shortest American president was James Madison, at five feet, four inches. Most of the others stood in the range of five feet, six inches to five feet, eight inches. For the record, Sens. Corker and Rubio are of average height among all American men, at five feet, seven inches.
   That figure is for white males. Other ethnic groups post different height figures.
   However, Donald Trump does rank among the fattest of American presidents, ranking sixth, at 245 pounds and a body mass index of 30, according to data gathered by the web site www.presidentstory.com.
   That, however, is not likely to be a claim to fame he will brag about.