Duncan Hunter: A Wealthy Version of the Common Man

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]