Why would JE's campaign committee even APPROVE to pay for a damn haircut?

[RiverStone]

Why not then pay for new socks or underwear too? Or do they?

Is there not some protocol or federal elections rules against spending campaign donations for personal items?

Putting aside the cost, is it fair to assume that instead of reaching for his wallet to pay the overpriced stylist - John thought to himself---"My campaign will pay for it" :shrug:

* * * * * *

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Looking pretty is costing John Edwards' presidential campaign a lot of pennies. The Democrat's campaign committee picked up the tab for two haircuts at $400 each by celebrity stylist Joseph Torrenueva of Beverly Hills, Calif., according to a financial report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

more:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Edwards-Hair.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. With all the issues in the world...

This is not one of them on my short list.

[Toucano]

21. Well it is on mine.

It's about JUDGEMENT. It's about UNDERSTANDING.

We've suffered long enough with leaders with no SENSE.

I don't, thank you very much, want another one.



Stupid is as stupid does. And this was fucking STUPID.

[Clark2008]

65. Judgment...

Like being the only Democrat on the Armed Services Committee to vote the IWR out of committee?

Like sponsoring the IWR on the full floor?

Like helping to write the Patriot Act?

Yep - it IS about judgment and Edwards hasn't proven he has any.

[ends_dont_justify]

32. Amazing, isn't it?

I feel the same way you do, but it seems some people need a pair of horse blinders to stay on issues just a day earlier they said was so important to them...

[RufusTFirefly]

2. Thank god Hillary wears a wig!

[aquart]

3. As the Swiftboat Churns.

Edwards came in too high in a couple of polls and POOF! The slime appears and appears and appears and appears and appears and appears and appears and appears.

[RiverStone]

6. It's not slimy - it's stupid

For JE's handlers or himself to be so arrogant or disconnected to think that charging $400 from campaign donations would slip by unnoticed.

In perspective - I'd vote for John with spikes, a buzz cut, or a perm over any rethug anyday!

But I'm not gonna march in lockstep if a DEM candidate I otherwise greatly admire, loses his standing for NOT paying the dude out of his wallet. And then the campaign reported it as an expense???

Are there not rules on what a candidate can spend donations on?

[TomInTib]

4. Why in the world would he even enter it as an expense?

The guy is worth many millions.

Why did he claim it?

[MonkeyFunk]

34. That's the mystery

and why it shows very poor judgment.

He ALREADY has a reputation as a vain pretty-boy. Why play into that?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

84. Think: Staff.

n/t

[w4rma]

5. Edwards had to pay the stylist for travel expenses and time away from the shop

…
One reason the cost of the cut was so steep even by Beverly Hills standards is that Torrenueva went to Edwards rather than the candidate coming into the stylist's salon.
…
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_5690196

He basically had to pay the stylist for all the haircuts that the stylist couldn't do while away from the shop *and* the travel expenses, plus Edwards's own haircut.

[RiverStone]

7. Forget the cost - why did not John himself pay for it?

Out of his wallet?

[originalpckelly]

8. This is not good, they're painting the picture that he's a pretty boy.

It's to fit in with that video of him combing his hair obsessively, which admittedly does make him a little odd.

[Toucano]

22. Worse. They're painting him as a pretty VAPID boy.

I'm gonna' have to hear an explanation better than, "It's all about image" to conclude otherwise.

[flying_monkeys]

9. The stylist is a long time friend and haircutter for John.

I imagine John has paid out of his wallet many times before this particular service from this particular person and didn't ever think Democrats in the USA would get hysterical about a haircut.


It *is* a campaign expense. But I bet he never includes a breakdown again and just goes for the umbrella "operating expenses" disclosure next time.


It is unbelievable that the left if helping to keep this Red Herring afloat, IMO. Who needs attacks from the right when the left is so happy to off their own?

[Stephanie]

11. I expect it was part of the cost of an ad shoot.

Which is how the Clinton Senate campaign accounted for her $3000 hairstylist bill, also expensed to the campaign.

[RiverStone]

13. He must not be too close---charging his friend $400!

It *is* a campaign expense. But I bet he never includes a breakdown again and just goes for the umbrella "operating expenses" disclosure next time.

Ummm, how do you figure it is a campaign expense flying_monkeys?

It is unbelievable that the left if helping to keep this Red Herring afloat, IMO. Who needs attacks from the right when the left is so happy to off their own?

I see no Red Herring - I see a stupid and totally avoidable mistake. Remember what separates us from the Freepers... we DO NOT walk in lockstep. The diversity of opinion is what makes our big blue tent...BLUE! I call it like I see it - and with John Q Public not generally being near as in the know about global issues as most DUers, this haircut thing reads BAD for John.

Wait till the talk show hosts get a hold of this tonight...

[johnaries]

14. he's making personal and television appearances

as part of his campaign. Therefore, his "appearance" (including his haircut) is part of the campaign. I guarantee every campaign expenses haircuts, make-up, etc. As the previous poster noted, they probably don't itemize them.

[MonkeyFunk]

35. Should the campaign buy his clothes?

I don't think so.

Look the President has to pay for his own clothes and his own haircuts - I think candidates should expect to do the same - especially those are running on trying to understand the problems of poor americans.

[flying_monkeys]

19. With a gajillion posts on DU criticizing it, I doubt

the talk show hosts will pass it by tomorrow. Feeding off our own *always* catches their attention, eh?


It is a campaign expense because looking good is important for a campaign. If he went scraggy, people would bitch "OH Look at that John Edwards! He can't even GROOM himself properly! Tsk tsk!"

And people DO vote on crap like that.


As far as lockstep goes? I see a whole lotta Dems falling all over to condemn a haircut and add fodder to the Talk show hosts. Sure looks like lockstep to me, but what do I know, I like Edwards. If knocking him out of the race this early over a HAIRCUT really advances the Democratic Party, please tell me how - - cuz it sure looks like y'all grabbed the bait tossed out by some one in the RNC or maybe even MC Rove himself....


BIG PICTURE: ALL of what Edwards says/has said - - against a $400 haircut? Worth culling the herd?

[RiverStone]

27. I'm afraid DU does not have enough...

Influence with the American populus to cull the herd. The MSM and American Idol watchers will do that way before DU has anything to say about it.

Sadly, we both know the tail wags the dog when it comes to whats really important in politics.

The GOOD news is, prior to the sweeping DEM victories in November - I saw plenty of DUers raging against the machine and each other (shhhhhhh remember the smoking threads) -and guess what- we totally KICKED rethug ass!

And will again in 08, IMHO.

[MonkeyFunk]

48. Whether we discuss it here or not

will have no bearing on how the story plays out in the public. We're not that important.

Tonight, Letterman made a joke that "John Edwards is holding a fundraiser for a facial."

The notion that he's vain, and expects others to pay for it, is already out there. It was just really really dumb of him to do this.

[sandnsea]

10. lapse in judgment, let it go

Say your piece and then be done with it. If you comment on this story in more than one thread, then you're making a bigger political mistake than the campaign did.

[RiverStone]

16. Almost gone...

Ah but sandnsea, I'd reckon with all your posts on DU - you have articulated a passionate view on more then 'one' thread at a time.:)

Folks are pretty good here separating out the riff raff. Lets just say walking one's talk is a biggie for me - both in politics and life. That was the issue here for me - lesson learned for John I hope.

On that---I'd say my piece has been said.

OK, done with it!


peace~

[sandnsea]

17. Not on stupid shit

Not when it's a Presidential candidate. It's not worth it. One thread, I'm out.

Besides, there's honestly just too much stupidity on DU lately to argue with. Things are pretty bad when most of DU is to the right of me, don't you think??

[RiverStone]

20. Forrest Gump had something wise to say about 'stupid'

Besides, there's honestly just too much stupidity on DU lately to argue with. Things are pretty bad when most of DU is to the right of me, don't you think??

Well, I've noticed a slight shift from DU being way left to more centrist over the past year. Though in a way, that may be more reflective of our party being *thankfully* more inclusive. Appealing to moderates is what won us all those elections last November! The diversity of our big BLUE tent defines DEMS. No, I don't things are pretty bad on DU - things are VERY bad under the umbrella of Shrub - and left or moderate - the goal for 08 is to take back the presidency! Then stack the Supreme Court for my kid's future...

Even if you are to the left of most, hope you keep hangin out on DU :hi:

[sandnsea]

30. Stupid is as stupid does

Yeah, my exact point when we spend days on stupid shit like haircuts.

Anyways, about DU, I'm not all that far to the left. I used to argue with Chavez and Castro supporters. I don't know if being against the war over-shadowed other views or what, but there sure does seem to be a whole lot more centrists than there used to be. Some days I feel like I'm reading a freeper board. And I used to be so far to the right of the average DUer, I was accused of being a freeper mole. :crazy:

[Toucano]

24. That's what Bush said about his Katrina response. Let it go! n/t

[sandnsea]

31. Katrina isn't stupid n/t

[Toucano]

33. Oh, I think the response to Katrina was pretty stupid and lacked judgement.

Just like J.E. letting his campaign pay for ridiculously high personal grooming expenses lacked judgment and is stupid.

[sandnsea]

38. On equal levels???

One's important and the other is just - stupid. Let it go.

[Toucano]

41. Sorry. Not gonna "let it go".

I'm gonna ride it until the stupid MO FO apologizes for taking up the banner of the struggling and the poor in the TWO AMERICAS while he's too stupid to even understand how he discredits EVERYONE else who carries the same banner by his selfishness and vanity.

On the same level? Surely no. But I'm not interested in following another "lack of judgment" leader who can't get the small stuff right.

[sandnsea]

44. Good-bye 2008

Stupid MO FO's who don't know who the enemy is and what the real issues are and jump on any shit bandwagon the right shoves in their path.

[MonkeyFunk]

67. This election will not be lost

by us talking about the missteps of candidates. Come on... show some sense.

If somebody were here propagating a pure smear, I'd be fighting it tooth and nail. But this isn't made up, it isn't untrue, it isn't a right-wing swiftboat attack. It's a documented fact, and it's OK to say that it was a dumb mistake. I would defend ANY candidate against unfair attacks, and I would speak up when ANY candidate does something this stupid. It's not about my candidate (I don't have one) vs. another.

It's about what ALL Dems should be smart enough to do - act honorably (by which I mean pay for your own damned haircuts) and don't play into the stereotypes you already have to overcome (by which I mean don't get a $400 haircut). If Edwards really really needs a $400 haircut, he can get one privately. Just break out your own wallet and nobody would ever have known about this.

[sandnsea]

75. Being branded by the right

is exactly how we lose and how we've been losing since they got control of the air waves. We let them dehumanize our candidate and we spend more time being embarrassed by their cheap shots than taking aim on our own.

I don't disagree with you on the actual haircut - just stop helping them turn it into an issue. Edwards haircut is NOTHING compared with the crap they do.

[Blackhatjack]

12. For People Who Care About The War, Healthcare, Etc. Haircuts DO NOT MATTER...

If you want to carp about something, pick an issue that matters..... you do realize that this is the Republican strategy for attacking Edwards, right?

If you have nothing more to criticize Edwards for than this, you have nothing....

Next time someone brings it up, ask them if their highest priority is to elect a candidate with a cheap bad haircut? Or do we want to see changes in D.C. that will benefit the Middle Class and the Poor? Do we want to win in 2008?

Really this issue has been run into the ground... did someone put Rush in charge?

[RiverStone]

15. Now your the carp police?

Eh Blackhatjack, one thing which separates US from the Freepers is we DO NOT march in lockstep!

Picking an "issue that matters" is purely subjective. Stupid posts on irrelevant subjects die a quick death on DU. If something has legs, it is for a reason - even if you personally think it is a non-issue.

It's NOT the fucking haircut that irks me, nor am I weighing it against far more pressing and global issues...

I do question the propriety of ANY campaign - DEM or rethug - spending public donations expressly given in GOOD faith to win a presidency --- for a couple of $400 haircuts. It just seems unethical.

[Blackhatjack]

82. Ok I marked you down as thinking this is a Major issue, let's move on...n/t

[Toucano]

25. Judgement matters.

This candidate demonstrates ZERO judgement in letting his campaign pay for a Hollywood haircut by someone who's "ALL ABOUT" the poor, the two Americas. From a "good friend" no less.

Imagine the no-bid contracts he'd let his "friends" have if he were elected.

Edwards is officially DEAD TO ME. DEAD as in JUST AS STUPID and SELFISH as BUSH.

[Blackhatjack]

83. Well it is significant to you, Haircuts are enough to make a decision on who should be president.

Come on.... you would really expect people to believe you made your choice for president based on this issue? (I suspect you were never much of a Edwards supporter before this, am I right?)

If this is truly the basis you use for selecting our next president, then I think it says more about your judgment than about Edwards' judgment. Just my opinion.

[MonkeyFunk]

37. No, the haircut doesn't much matter

but what DOES matter is the pure stupidity and apparent greed of charging the campaign for a personal expense like a haircut. It especially matters when the candidate in question already has an image problem where he's portrayed as a feather-haired pretty-boy.

Was it important that Kerry went wind-surfing on his vacation? No. But it played directly into an already-existing negative stereotype about him.

Smart politicians shouldn't make those kinds of errors. They should NOT play right into the very worst stereotypes about them.

[RufusTFirefly]

18. There is another way

If you spend a fortune on a haircut, you're an elitist pretty boy. If you don't, you're a dork and a wonk. If you're passionate about policy, you're angry and out of control. If you aren't, you're boring.

Meanwhile, consider the phrasing of the AP story

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Looking pretty is costing John Edwards' presidential campaign a lot of pennies. The Democrat's campaign committee picked up the tab for two haircuts at $400 each by celebrity stylist Joseph Torrenueva of Beverly Hills, Calif., according to a financial report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

I'm shocked that the New York Times of all papers would run such a story! They should have their aluminum tubes tied. Bring back Scooter's buddy Judy Miller and with her, quality journalism!

[JVS]

26. Long live bad toupees! Symbol of tje working people and worn by their...

representatives in government and organized labor.

[RiverStone]

28. And the winner is....

more on bad toupees here:

http://www.brokennewz.com/entertainment/toupee.asp

[JVS]

29. bad toupees rule. they're such a middle finger to societie's rules

[Alexander]

71. I've met Kucinich - his hair is real.

So is Trent Lott's.

[LittleClarkie]

23. He's getting the Kerry treatment

who cares about the damn haircut.

[MonkeyFunk]

36. Nope

not quite. The swiftboat attacks against Kerry were LIES.

Edwards did, in fact, have his campaign pay exorbitant prices for haircuts. That's not a lie, and it's just politically tone-deaf.

[sandnsea]

39. Oh gosh

Kerry and windsurfing, Kerry and green tea, Kerry and the sperm suit, Kerry and oh my god I could go on all night. All of it, stupid.

While I do think the haircut is ridiculous, for one, and should not have been paid for by the campaign - it's still a stupid nothing issue like they do to all the Democratic candidates.

[MonkeyFunk]

40. stupid or not

image-wise, these things have powerful effects.

Nobody who was inclined to like Kerry gave a shit about the swiftboat liars. But some people WERE put off by his windsurfing, because it's seen as an elite pursuit.

When he did it, I immediately thought it was a mistake. Not wrong, just a mistake, PR-wise. Similarly, Edwards a) getting an exorbitantly-priced haircut and b) charging it to the campaign is also a huge PR-mistake. I'm not saying it's illegal or immoral - I'm saying that it's a dumb thing to do.

[sandnsea]

43. No, they weren't

What's your deal that we lost a Presidential election due to a whole pile full of stupid bullshit - and you jump right on the next candidate bandwagon of stupid shit.

We windsurf all over the west. I learned in Montana. It was never an issue except for people who would concoct an issue out of a haircut and those people are not on our side. You're supposed to fight those people, not quiver at their every utterance.

[MonkeyFunk]

45. I'm not quivering

at all.

I'm recognizing that smart politicians don't play into those stereotypes.

In fact, right now, I'm watching Letterman and he made a joke that "John Edwards just held a fundraiser for a facial."

See?

Don't play into those stereotypes, because they become late-night joke fodder, and the "image" given to you by the late-night comedians is more "sticky" than anything the swiftboaters ever did.

Whether we discuss it here on DU or not will have absolutely no bearing on how this plays out in the public. It's already playing out poorly, and thus, it was a mistake.

[sandnsea]

47. Yep, quivering

Letterman told a joke - the horror - aaaaargh - run for cover Dems run run run.

That's what we do, on DU and off DU. We have to stop.

We have got to learn who the enemy is and to stay on the attack - 24/7. Edwards haircut is the kind of common mistake everybody makes in life, you don't let it take your eye off the prize.

[MonkeyFunk]

49. I know who the enemy is

and I know how they operate, and that's why it pains me to see a good candidate make a really stupid mistake like this.

Bill Clinton isn't going to be seen going into a Hooter's.

Hillary Clinton isn't going to go on a Rosie O'Donnell cruise.

Barack Obama is not going to drink a malt-liquor on national TV.


A smart politician doesn't make these kinds of stupid mistakes. A multi-millionaire running for President on a theme of "Two Americas" should know better than to get two $400 haircuts and bill his campaign for them. It's just dumb, especially when his worst PR problem is the perception that he's a vain pretty-boy.

[sandnsea]

55. None of that would bother me either

Quit quivering. Who cares about Hooters and Rosie and malt liquor. It all represents real people. We could stand to get a little more real in this party. People love Rosie O'Donnell too, don't buy into their spin about her either.

[MonkeyFunk]

64. It wouldn't bother me, personally

but I would definitely recognize all of those actions as being incredibly stupid for a major political figure to engage in.

NOT because the right-wing would make hay, but because it would be fodder for the late-night comedians to build an unfair image of these people.

It's pure folly to think that public perception, as amplified by the culture, is unimportant.

[JI7]

56. Hillary HAS gone on Rosie and Rosie is supporting her

Obama is a smoker, and i can't even believe you said that about Clinton considering what he HAS done that we all known about with blow jobs, Flowers etc.

it's usually the ones who are always screaming about wanting fighters and other crap who cower at every little criticism of a candidate.

[sandnsea]

59. Now that is the truth

"the ones who are always screaming about wanting fighters and other crap who cower at every little criticism of a candidate."

[MonkeyFunk]

62. Perhaps

if you'd stop trying to characterize my position as one of cowardice, you might be better able to understand my points.

[MonkeyFunk]

60. But I'm not cowering at all

I'm not afraid of what the other side will say. in fact, I have often argued here that we shouldn't give a shit.

But this isn't about the other side - this is about popular perception. Letterman's already doing jokes about it, and he's not a republican shill.

Yes, Hillary can go on Rosie. She can't go on a gay cruise with her. She's smart enough not to do that, NOT because it would be wrong, but because she knows it would be an easy cudgel with which to beat her.

Anyone running for President as a populist would do well to get his hair cut in whatever local barbershop he happens to be near. Meet the guys, wait for a chair to open up, and pay his 10 bucks and leave a good tip - out of his own pocket.

[JI7]

69. Letterman and others make fun of politicians all the time

you think there will be a politician so perfect that wont make a mistake which comedians will find impossible to make fun of ?

from what i have seen the problem seems more that Democrats don't defend their candidates enough and do get scared over anyone making fun of the candidate. and start attacking the candidate. it's one thing to be critical or disagree with the candidate but some have an obsession to make it bigger than it is and not do anything to actually help.

[MonkeyFunk]

70. No, I don't believe that

I believe you shouldn't make it easy for them.

Ferchrissake, do you REALLY think it was good for him to get two $400 haircuts and charge it to the campaign?

That's just fucking insane, I'm sorry.

[JI7]

58. only ones put off by windsurfing were the people on yachts and golf clubs

that costs thousands of dollars to be a member of.

[MonkeyFunk]

61. I disagree

rightly or wrongly, it's seen as an elitist pursuit by most americans.

[sandnsea]

66. You live in Chicago?

Are you kidding me? And you think windsurfing is elitest???

Get out more.

http://search.ebay.com/windsurf-board_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfromZR10QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsacatZQ2d1QQsaprchiZQQsaprcloZQQssPageNameZWLRS

[MonkeyFunk]

73. I didn't say that

I said it's PERCEIVED as an elitist pursuit by most Americans. And in fact, it is. I never knew a poor guy who had a lot of windsurfing equipment.

[sandnsea]

74. So it isn't by you

You just think it's perceived that way. Based on what?

I just gave you an Ebay link. Used equipment is affordable. Remember whenever people get lost on a mountain? Then mountain climbing is elitist. I've heard people try to say bicycling is elitest. Brian Schweitzer on horseback helped him win in Montana, but I've had northeasterners tell me horseback riding is elitest.

The truth is, none of it's elitest. The only people who think anything besides a cane pole and a line is elitest are the same people who say they've got no reason to leave their state because who needs more than a fishing hole anyway.

Stop being cowed by these people. It's embarrassing to the party.

[MonkeyFunk]

76. Please

stop accusing me of being a coward - it's wrong, it's rude, it's offensive, and I'm pretty fucking sick of it.

I'm making a legitimate point. You AGREE with my point - you just think it shouldn't be discussed. Well I say fuck that. It DOESN'T MATTER one whit if we discuss it here. You think the electorate reads DU?

It's ALREADY a joke - Letterman ripped on it tonight. It doesn't matter what we say here - it's ALREADYT proven to be a mistake. Yes, you're ashamed of it and want to sweep it under the rug, but it's too fucking late.

Edwards screwed up. I'm not a coward. You should check your tone. I haven't once said anything about your motives or your character. Do me the same favor.

[sandnsea]

77. You want it to be an issue then

For whatever reason.

A joke doesn't become an issue because Letterman tells it.

Yes, DU is read by many people who matter. I heard the same "nobody reads DU" crap in 2004 when we tried to get people to stop their chicken little nattering about every stupid thing.

You either want it to be an issue so you insist on everybody talking about it - or you panic every time the right opens their mouth. Only two explanations.

[MonkeyFunk]

78. oh fer fucks sake knock it off...

I don't WANT it to be an issue. It IS an issue, and if I can't discuss it here, where CAN I discuss it?

And since you can't stop assigning false motives to me, I'll just assume you're incapable of adult discussion and wish you a goodnight. You're far too childish to be up this late.

[sandnsea]

79. That's what makes it an issue

If nobody talks about it, there's no issue. That's pretty self-evident.

[MonkeyFunk]

85. it already is an issue, regardless of what DU does or doesn't do

what's so hard to understand about that?

You think if this thread didn't exist, Letterman wouldn't have mentioned it?

That's horribly naive.

[sandnsea]

86. No it isn't

It won't be an issue unless the blogosphere starts emailing the story or starting 1,001 posts about it. Supporters are just as bad, some things really do not need response. Of course, Hillary's $1500 do and $3000 make-up session don't help. But still, if people really cared about the party, they'd know their "concern" isn't going to help anything. Dig through Republican filings and see what they've been paying for, that's what will help.

[RiverStone]

88. in defense of windsurfers

Talk about spinning off on a tangent....

On windsurfing: I live in Washington State and windsurfing is my number 1 outdoorsy passion. There is a beautiful place near by called the Columbia River Gorge which has a river that runs through it - the Columbia - which runs opposite the prevailing strong westerly winds that blow spring/summer. We're talking ripping winds - frequently 25-35+ mph. The Gorge is home to many enthusiastic windsurfers and kite boarders.

I have never heard in my 10+ years as a "boardhead" the perception that windsurfing is an elitist pursuit. Sure, there are a handful of sailors that by a new quiver of sails every year - but they are either pro/sponsored sailors (get em cheap) or very well off in the first place. Most of us go to swap meets or check out local bulletin boards for used gear. I have used my 5 sails for years and my fiberglass board is circa mid 90's. Once you get past the initial investment, the wind and water is FREE (sometimes parking costs). So compared to downhill skiing (for example) the costs per year keep dropping even with an occasional gear upgrade.

If you could see the all beater cars and trucks parked at the sites in the Gorge - I'd figure your view on this wonderful activity being elitist would shift. We just love the wind and waves and being powered by nature.

That's probably way more then ya needed to know on windsurfing:) Hang-loose! :headbang:

[LittleClarkie]

90. No, I meant the reports about how much Kerry spent on a haircut

The kind of thing that is true, but shouldn't matter, but that people like Rush Limbaugh will make hay with and call someone an elitist. But then they're doing that to Edwards anyway, calling him a hypocrite

[BlooInBloo]

42. I don't know... The same reason alleged Democrats see fit to carry republican water on the story?

http://www.matthewyglesias.com/archives/2007/04/from_propaganda_to_cw/

"Glenn Greenwald explains how it's done:

STEP 1: A new right-wing gossip (Ben Smith) at a new substance-free political rag (The Politico) seizes on some petty, manufactured incident to fuel personality caricatures of Democratic candidates.

STEP 2: The old right-wing gossip (Drudge) uses his old substance-free political rag (The Drudge Report) to amplify the inane personality caricatures.

STEP 3: Right-wing hacks with pretenses of respectability -- like Mickey Kaus and others -- follow the script by "analyzing" the gossip and embracing it.

STEP 4: National media outlets -- such as AP and CNN -- whose world is ruled by Drudge, turn the gossip into "news stories."

STEP 5: Our Serious Beltway Political Analysts -- in this case, the very somber and smart Substantive Journalists at The New Republic -- mindlessly repeat all of it, thereby solidifying it as conventional wisdom, showing that "even Democrats and liberals are embarrassed by their candidates.""

[MonkeyFunk]

46. and since that method

is so widely known, it's stupid to purposely step into that trap.

Edwards knows that's how it works. He also knows that he has to overcome the perception of being a blow-dried pretty-boy. The smart thing to do would have been to a) get a modest haircut and b) pay for it out of his own pocket.

It was entirely tone-deaf to do this.

[BlooInBloo]

50. Especially with friends like DUers - who needs enemies?

[MonkeyFunk]

52. You're not addressing my points

I don't believe we should ignore stuff like this. And as I said above, what we say here will have no impact whatsoever in the public realm.

So do you believe it was OK for him to do this? Or do you believe it was NOT OK, but for the sake of decorum, we shouldn't discuss it?

[BlooInBloo]

54. I'm agreeing with you. He should be more aware - he has to contend not only with republicans...

... but also with his spineless republicans'-water-carrying Democratic friends.

He should be EXTRA aware because of that. I completely agree with you.


EDIT: Because Lord knows, if republicans make a charge, Edwards will DAMN sure not expect any assistance from DUers. So he should be MUCH more aware of the fact that he's on his own.

[MonkeyFunk]

57. Well

If they make an unfair attack, I'll lead the charge against it.

But this isn't unfair - it's 100% true. He charged his campaign for two very expensive haircuts. I understand that you'd like to ignore or minimize it, but I think it's worthy of some discussion.

I don't dislike Edwards, by any means. I just think this was a bone-headed move, and he should've known better.

I have stood up on these boards against unfair attacks against a variety of candidates - but I also speak out when a candidate does something stupid.

I'm sorry you think I'm a spineless republican-water carrier for pointing out this was a politically tone-deaf move.

[BlooInBloo]

63. Not as sorry as I am that you think helping Drudge frame a narrative is a good thing.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/04/18/beltway_wisdom/index.html

[0rganism]

51. the NYT even had the gall to bring up the 1993 Clinton haircut at LAX

I remember that haircut in 1993 for two reasons:
1) it was the first in a long line of direct attacks by the national press on the character of newly-elected President Clinton.
2) damn near everything the press reported about how the haircut inconvenienced travelers was shown to be 100% grade-A bullshit.

You know, we haven't gotten Edwards' side of the story yet, and I bet, as usual, the rightwing hit squad got the facts wrong -- but that's pretty much irrelevant, isn't it? It's difficult to set straight, and probably not worth the effort, but it's also a building block of a coordinated whispering campaign. The way I see it now, a haircut story is the shot across the bow, it's definitely a harbinger of more unsubstantiated mudslinging to come, and once again the Democrats are dropping the ball in the quick response department.

I can see how the character assasination of Edwards is going to work already: "effeminite lawyer man-child who doesn't get along with his salt-of-the-earth neighbors and uses his wife's terminal illness as a campaign prop."

Fuck the haircuts and the makeup and the wardrobe and the lapel pins. Edwards should spend every red cent of that campaign fund and a fair bit of his own money on a major PR campaign to expose those slimy media whores and rightwing hacks for exactly what they are. Drop the presidential aspirations entirely if need be, team up with David Brock and bust the fascists' echo chamber catering club wide open. That would be a public service worth remembering 20 years down the road.

[MonkeyFunk]

53. correct

the Clinton haircut story was bogus, and a cheap smear.

However, the Edwards haircut was reported by the Edwards campaign itself - so I doubt it's a lie.

[0rganism]

68. oh, I'm sure Edwards got the haircuts, that much seems clear

What they don't tell us is the backstory from Edwards' viewpoint. Heck, he may have accidentally charged them on a campaign credit card, and the expenses got automatically put on the ledger that went to the FEC. The other expenses mentioned look like standard campaign stuff, going by what the "Pink Sapphire co-owner Ariana Franggos" had to say.

Which brings me to the spin.

Going by the tone of the first 3/4 of the article, Edwards might as well be having a hot affair with his Hollywood "specializes in men's" hairdresser, who "declined to identify" the locations of their "wherever convenient" rondesvous. It's a thinly-veiled slam that leverages our culturally-embedded homophobia. The last part is mostly devoted to slamming him for being a class hypocrite, and throwing in the bit about the Clinton cut as a parting shot.

Once this "story" gets explained and debunked, there's going to be a whole lot less to it, I'd bet you money on that much.

[MonkeyFunk]

72. OK

if it turns out to be an accounting error, then it will be a smear. But a candidate of his caliber shouldn't even have such accounting errors.

He's not a rookie at this.

[0rganism]

89. the smear isn't in the accounting error

Let's face reality here, as Edwards' campaign has started to publicize its rebuttal. It doesn't really matter to the media whores or most of their audience whether or not Edwards accidentally made a mistake, or his hairdresser made a mistake, or whether the FEC even gives a shit about this penny-ante stuff.

This story is all about portraying Edwards as a spoiled rich hypocritical girly-man who may have been having a gay affair with his hairdresser.

That's the cake. The accounting mixup is plate. The sooner we dispense with the pretense of concern for financial propriety, the sooner we can look at how the media is going to be fabricating attack memes against Democratic candidates -- not just Edwards, but the whole slate of them. Truth is, relatively few bother to follow the ins and outs of the legal circumstances of poltical campaigns, what sticks in peoples minds and makes a difference is the background story. We've seen it already with some of the others.

Barack Hussein Obama (always be sure to emphasize Hussein) is an inexperienced rookie neophyte opportunist raised by radical muslim clerics who's not really African-American.

Al Gore is a phony serial exaggerator waging a campaign of fearmongering against American industry.

John Kerry is a wealthy political chameleon who tries to be all things to all people and maybe a Jane Fonda traitor.

Pick a Democratic candidate, see if you can isolate the 10-second negative narrative associated with that candidate, designed to alienate them from the American voters.

Point is, now we know the nature of John Edwards' slam story.

[robcon]

80. I haven't contributed to Edwards' campaign

but I'd be annoyed if my money went to his haircuts.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

81. To answer your question ...

the campaign folks approve the expense because they work for (conspiracy warning...) John Edwards.

He's the boss.

[Sapphire Blue]

87. ***** And now, for all the Edwards detractors, some ***** TRUTH ***** about the haircut... *****

And now, for all the Edwards detractors, some ***** TRUTH ***** about the haircut...: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x700853