Do Americans prefer presidents with daughters?

In a blog post, Auren Hoffman wondered if politicians with daughters are more successful than those without. It's an intriguing thought, and there may be some truth to the suggestion. We focused on American presidents and discovered that each of the last 10 presidents had at least one daughter, but only five had sons. Why would daughters have an impact? Perhaps voters think that presidents with daughters will be more empathetic to women's issues, or perhaps the following anonymous comment on the Marginal Revolution blog offers some insight: ALL of my male friends who had children were changed for the better by having at least one daughter. It is not a wife who socializes a husband, it is a daughter. Before Kennedy's presidency, however, there doesn't appear to be any benefit to having daughters. What could explain the switch at the Kennedy vs Nixon election? Perhaps it was because that was the first contest which included televised debates. Before television, it is likely that policies had a greater role in affecting voters' decisions, whereas in the television era, other factors such as charisma and empathy may have started to play a bigger role. Click on the image on the left for a full-size view. The table below displays all the children of all the presidents. If you notice any other patterns, let us know in the comments below.