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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sunny who wrote (15145)	11/4/2003 3:46:32 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793658

In actuality, these are world class US based construction companies I was the sub on a minor contract to solar heat the pool at El Toro back in the 80s. The guy I worked for was a "3rd tier" contractor. I saw what the Government puts up with in sloppy work from lower level people. It is no wonder the Bureaucrats want to do business with Bectal/Halliburton. They know the work will get done. If they "competitive bid" it, they end up with a "Briefcase Contractor," like me, who has no major ongoing organization, and "ad hoc" hires for the job he lucked into. Major headaches for the Bureaucrats.

To: Sunny who wrote (15145)	11/4/2003 3:57:27 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793658

They got little baby legs That stand so low You got to pick 'em up Just to say hello They got little voices Goin' peep, peep, peep Randy Newman ___________________________________ Short end of stick can hurt in politics By Tom Feren - Cleveland Plain Dealer Dennis Kucinich is of ten called a long- shot candidate for president, which just doesn't seem right. He could be described more accurately as a short-shot candidate, and it doesn't matter what you think of him or his positions. Through no fault of his own, he might not measure up. This gives me no pleasure, because I stand right beside him in coming up short. History shows that size matters in presidential politics, and Kucinich, who's listed at 5 feet, 7 inches, stands below the 5-foot-9 average height of American men. The tallest candidate doesn't always win, although it has happened more often than not. But a look at their known or estimated heights shows no more than a half-dozen of the 43 presidents stood close to average for their times. Only one was unquestionably short in his day. Most have been several inches above the norm. Eighteen have topped 6 feet, including six of the last nine. Only Abraham Lincoln was taller than Lyndon Johnson (6-feet-3) and Bill Clinton (6-feet-2½). Start at the beginning. George Washington (6-feet-2) and Thomas Jefferson (6-feet-2½) were known for their height in an age when the average was about 5 feet, 5 inches. Serving be tween them was John Ad ams, who was above average at 5-feet-7 but dwarfed by comparison. Maybe it ex plains why he was a one-termer. Lincoln was 6-feet-4 and looked even taller in a stovepipe hat. It might not be a coincidence that he came to national attention through his Senate race debates with Stephen Douglas, who was known as the "Little Giant" for his short stature. No wonder that Jimmy Carter - the closest to average of recent presidents, at 5 feet, 9½ inches - avoided standing next to 6-foot Gerald Ford during their debates. The height disadvantage alone spelled doom for Michael Dukakis against George Bush. Height seems to have benefits outside politics as well. A study released last week by two professors at the University of Florida and the University of North Carolina found that tall people earn considerably more money throughout their careers than shorter co-workers on average, with each inch adding about $789 a year in pay. "These findings are troubling," one of the professors told Reuters news service, "in that, with a few exceptions such as professional basketball, no one could argue that height is an essential ability required for job performance nor a bona fide occupational qualification." Previous research, including a study by University of Pennsylvania economists, also found that being tall is an earnings advantage in the workplace. Another study found that CEOs are taller than the average male. Maybe that explains why Ross Perot thought he could beat the odds in his bids for the presidency. He'd done it before. He's worth billions but is 5-feet-7. Height doesn't help everywhere. Ronald Reagan stood 6-feet-1 in the White House, where his height might have served him better than it did in Hollywood. Actors known for being short include Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Tom Cruise, Robert Redford, Richard Dreyfuss, Mike Myers and action stars Jackie Chan and Jean Claude Van Damme. And Martin Sheen - he gets to be President Bartlet on "The West Wing," and he's 5-feet-7. Cameras can be deceiving. Presidents, on the other hand, can turn out to be taller than they look, like objects in a mirror that may be closer than they appear. Richard Nixon had that stoop thing going, but he stood a shade under 6 feet. Franklin Roosevelt, who was customarily seen sitting, was 6-feet-2. Ohioan Benjamin Harrison is generally considered the last short president, though at 5-feet-6 he would have been about average for the time. He actually lost the popular vote to the taller Grover Cleveland in 1888 but won the White House in the Electoral College. Interesting, when you consider that Al Gore is 6-feet-1, and George W. Bush is 5-feet-11. The only unquestionably short president was Jefferson's successor, James Madison, who was 5-feet-4. He was known as the "father of the Constitution," and he helped frame the Bill of Rights. Good things come in small packages, even if the electorate seldom has agreed since. Not to sell him short, but it makes a tall order for Kucinich. cleveland.com