Stephen Douglas, who was short in stature, was the Democratic Party nominee in the 1860 US presidential election. He lost to the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln.
One day, when a group of men were discussing Douglas and his physical pecularities, Lincoln happened to join them. One of them asked him how long he thought a man's legs should be. "Well," said Lincoln, "I should think a man's legs ought to be long enough to reach from his body to the ground."
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In 1864, George McClellan ran for the US presidency against incumbent president Lincoln. When Lincoln heard that a general who was supporting McClellan had been relieved of his command, Lincoln countermanded the order, saying, "Supporting McClellan for the presidency is no violation of army regulations, and as a question of taste in choosing between him and me, well, I'm the longest, but he's better looking."
史蒂芬．道格拉斯身材矮小。一八六零年美國總統選舉，他獲民主黨提名，但敗在共和黨候選人亞伯拉罕．林肯手下。
有一天，一群人在討論道格拉斯和他的體格特徵。這時，林肯走來，有人就問他說，他認為男人雙腿，應有多長。林肯回答：「我認為，男人雙腿，須由其身軀長達地面。」
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一八六四年，喬治．麥克萊倫競逐美國總統之職，對手是時任總統的林肯。當時有個將軍，支持麥克萊倫，被解除職務，林肯聽說，就把這解除職務命令撤銷，說道：「支持麥克萊倫競選總統，沒有違反軍隊規則。而選擇麥克萊倫或林肯，或關乎品味：我個子高，他樣子比我好看。」