According to the A.P. John Edwards billed his campaign for two $400 haircuts. His vanity will be fodder for late night comics, but his stupidity for billing his campaign for this may cost him the nomination.
John Edwards has already come under fire for being the champion of the poor while living in a multi-million dollar house. But America has had many examples of wealthy presidents addressing poverty. They tend not to hold wealth against candidates. But blatant displays of elitism are frowned upon.
Many people will scratch their own perfectly presentable $15 haircuts and wonder why John Edwards needs to have a personal celebrity barber (aka "hair stylist") who apparently is the only one he trusts near his follicles.
I assume other politicians spend hundreds of dollars for their haircuts. No doubt some enterprising reporter will research the amount everyone from the president to first term members of Congress spend for haircuts, and it may turn out that even Senator Jon Testor's crewcut [1] cost a few hundred bucks.
But no one will accuse Senator Testor of not being manly. Edwards, however, already has the reputation of being a preening metrosexual.
Why not throw a juicy steak to the hungry rapid pit bulldog Ann Coulter, who called him a faggot [2]:
FEC records show Edwards also availed himself of $250 in services from a trendy salon and spa in Dubuque, Iowa, and $225 in services from the Pink Sapphire in Manchester, N.H., which is described on its Web site as "a unique boutique for the mind, body and face" that caters mostly to women. Article [3]
The facts about the visit to the Pink Sapphire visit are spelled out at the end of the article, but many people won't bother to read that far if they even bother to read beyond the headline.
Pink Sapphire co-owner Ariana Franggos said the two payments last month_ $150 on March 7 and $75 on March 20 -- were for doing Edwards' makeup for television appearances. She handles makeup for local television personalities and was referred to Edwards through that connection.
"This poor guy. I'm telling you, I promise he's not in here getting facials and cucumber peels on his eyes or anything," she said.
But come on, can you imagine Karl Rove letting candidate Bush go anywhere near an establishment named the pink anything?
There are many reasons Senator Kerry lost the presidency, but the photos of him wind surfing cast him as a member of the elite out of touch with "ordinary people" despite the fact that this sport is both difficult and not that costly. It was the imagery that hurt him.
Both President Bush and Senator Kerry probably wore tailored suits costing thousands of dollars during the campaign, but who did millions of citizens say they'd rather spend informal time chowing down BBQ with?
Okay, it's been established that John Edwards feels he needs to spend more money on a haircut than it costs to feed a family of four for several weeks. But billing his campaign, or specifically, his campaign contributors, for this raises serious questions about his judgment and to a lesser extent his ethics.
Of course any Democrat will be under the microscope of right wing media, but by billing his campaign for the haircut, let alone even getting such an expensive haircut, Edwards has hurt his quest for the presidency because now the mainstream media has picked it up with headlines like:
"Edwards Haircuts Cost a Pretty Penny", (Assoicated Press)
"Democratic Hair Apparent" (LA Times)
"His 'Dos Don't Come Cheap" (Dallas Morning News)
"Edwards shells out for designer hair" (News and Observer)
"John Edwards staying dapper with spa visits, $400 haircuts" (Denver Post)
and the pithy
"Hairy John" (Fort Wayne News Sentinel)
Even the snarky left-leaning website Wonkette ran a story titled "John Edwards Twice as Gay as Bill Clinton" [4] as Clinton made the news in 1993 because he got a $200 haircut.
As far as ethics go, this makes me wonder whether it even crossed his mind whether his campaign contributors would want their donations spent this way. I don't see this as a huge ethical transgression, but when you run on a platform that includes bringing integrity to the presidency you want to be beyond reproach. If I gave $400 to a candidate I sure wouldn't want to think my entire contribution went for a haircut.
When something candidates do has their supporters saying "what could they have been thinking?" you have to question their judgment.