Reply #69: To clarify: $400 was not the price of his usual haircut

[dragonlady]

The whole thing has been taken out of context. The price was high because on this occasion it included the hair stylist coming to the candidate's location and having to wait around for a while, so naturally it would be a lot more than a normal haircut. John Edwards favors paying workers fairly for their time and skill, and that includes hair stylists. And to clear up another part of the story while we're at it: the bill was sent to the campaign by mistake and got paid by mistake, It was repaid out of their personal funds when this came to the Edwards' attention.

This incident has gotten way more publicity than it deserves, but I think it's worth setting things straight once in a while for people who are just now starting to get more involved in the primaries and may not have heard the truth yet. And you're right to point out that the whole matter of appearance for politicians is getting more important these days. I doubt Eisenhower and Stevenson gave much consideration to their haircuts (not that either of them had much hair!).