To be president, as we learned in high school civics classes, you must be tall and rich. But to run for president, you must only be wealthy — which explains, say, the candidacies of Tom Tancredo and Dennis Kucinich.
So it’s hardly shocking that all the candidates are, at minimum, in the top 5% of American household wealth and, at maximum, in the top half of the top 1% — yes, we’re talking to you, Rudy G, and also you, Hillary, and you, Haircut 400, and of course you, Scientologist Frenchman with $350 million in assets.
But even though suburban San Diego congressman and proud anti-Mex militant Duncan Hunter is still richer than 95% of Americans, he’s also kind of a loser just like you:
Not all the candidates were so flush. Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican of California, reported assets worth hundreds of thousands of dollars but also said he owed more than $30,000 in car loans and more than $75,000 in credit card debt. His was the only disclosure form to be filled out in handwriting.
Wealth Is a Common Factor Among 2008 Hopefuls [NYT]
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