Via WaPo:Splitting Hairs, Edwards’s Stylist Tells His Side of Story
It is some kind of commentary on the state of American politics that as Edwards has campaigned for president, vice president and now president again, his hair seems to have attracted as much attention as, say, his position on health care.
Or, it may be a comment on Edwards’ quality as a candidate.
Really, if your hair becomes a major issue in political campaign, you are in trouble.
On one level, the whole haircut flap (the fact that Edwards paid $400 for a cut–and indeed, more than that if one reads the whole WaPo piece) is rather silly. For one thing, there are no doubt any number of ridiculous things that candidates pay insane amounts of money for on a daily basis and we hear not a peep about them. And, quite frankly, Edwards is a multi-millionaire, so what’s $400 to him? As one makes more money one spends more on luxury items. There are things I shell out cash for now that I would have considered far too expensive to purchase back in my grad school days. (Of course, the story notes that some of the haircuts, but not all, have been paid for by the campaign, which raises other routes for criticism).
The haircut problem for Edwards is threefold. First, he has a scant political resume and he comes across as something of a political lightweight–as such, stories like tend to become more prominent. Especially when you toss in:
the YouTube video in which he was captured primping for the camera while the song “I Feel Pretty” from “West Side Story” played.
It just doesn’t help. Ask Dan Quayle how ridiculous sound bits can affect a career before one is dismissive of the impact of these kinds of issues. And with Clinton and Obama ahead of him in national polls, every little bit of negative public perception matters.
Second, one of his more prominent physical characteristics is his hair. If one has a specific characteristic that becomes part of the shorthand that describes you in the public mind, then that characteristic is going to be the subject of discussion, jokes and the like (think Jimmy Carter’s smile and teeth or Richard Nixon’s jowls, to name a couple).
Third, the man is running as the Champion of the Poor. He talks about Two Americas, the rich and the poor, and he keep reminding people how he is one of the mega-rich (remember his new house?). Since there are potential Edwards voters out there for whom $400 might pay the rent, it is symbolically problematic for the man to be paying such (and more) for what most people shell out $12 to have done (that is, if they don’t have their wife cut their hair for them…).
Update: James Joyner comments on this story as well, and includes a link to the above-referenced YouTube video that I was too lazy to look up.
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July 5th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Steven: I don’t think it has anything to do with the quality of his campaign. If it wasn’t the haircut, it would be land deals from his early years, or somebody he has on his staff who once wrote a bad word online, or something else. The press likes to run these kind of stories because the articles are not hard to write, and the press can curry favor with right wing critics and claim to be fair and balanced. The best writer on this kind of thing is Bob Somerby at the Daily Howler.
July 5th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
You have to admit that the man does have very nice hair.
If only my hair looked that good. . .
July 6th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
I just want to know what the campaign staffers that are working for him will think when he cuts them due to money shortages after he falters and is short on cash, but could afford a $400 haircut.