From Scratch

Yes, that’s Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd of CT getting a cut, not in a salon or a stylist’s chair, but in a plain old barber’s chair in Manchester, NH. Specifically, he was was at Dude’s Barber Shop where Francis “Spike” Smith ensured Dodd remained campaign-trail-ready. Message? Dodd might not have a snowball’s chance of winning the primary, but don’t call him out of touch.

Heaven forbid. The “gotcha” game is played every four years, give or take a campaign. Simple rules: zing candidates who are purportedly so out of touch with most of America that their ability to govern is questioned. There are two categories: hair for Democrats and food for Republicans.

Remember when Bush 41 was raked over the coals for a) being somewhat quizzical about a supermarket scanner and b) not knowing the prices of kitchen staples? Fast forward to just two weeks ago when Rudy “America’s Mayor” Giuliani made national news when he was asked about the prices of milk and bread but was too low by about half. He should have learned from 41.

Democrats should have learned their bad publicity lesson from Bill Clinton, who not only made his pilot wait while his locks were tended to, but also had the chutzpah to spend $200 for the cut. Last election, John Kerry came under scrutiny for the cost of his hair care. (Many New Englanders were all atwitter over every aspect of his lifestyle, as if they’d just discovered this long-time New England Senator is rich and is married to a woman who’s even richer. Come to think of it, that might have been news to some; I imagine it can be time-consuming to follow NASCAR, reality shows and politics.)

Now it’s John Edwards’ turn with not one, but two, $400 cuts. Unfortunately for him, he’s gone into the bonus round of the gotcha game: the money came from his campaign committee. FEC records also show his campaign picked up a $225 tab at a salon called Pink Sapphire, in the same city, Manchester, where Dodd was happy to be photographed.

By the way, Dodd’s haircut at Dude’s cost $12. No website to link to. It’s just a barber shop.

Tags: commentary