Beard Loses Election

As a Canadian living overseas, I find it fascinating Europeans would have a major political candidate with a face full of stubble. Facial hair in U.S. politics is verboten. So, it has been interesting to follow the campaign of conservative candidate Mariano Rajoy against the current incumbent, clean shaven socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero who recently won re-election.

I was curious to understand each candidate's platform. But my meagre Spanish comprehension meant largely trying to assess each politican based on images I saw on television, the newspaper and on banners posted on lamp posts. Finding out what each politican really stands for meant I would have to track down English commentary on the web and since I don't have a vote, was not too really motivated to do so.

Style versus Substance

But it got me thinking about the U.S. primaries and it's been said in many editorials that Hilary and Obama are similar in ideology, being democrats to the core. So if both politicans have similar viewpoints on major issues, to voters, does it really become an issue of style? Are people as apathetic when it comes to doing their due diligence when their vote really counts?

Many political consultants are highly compensated to ensure their candidate wears the right color tie, shirt and suit color to appeal to the masses. A well-manicured look is just a part of the package. It is likely that even those voters who are carefully considering the candidates based on their platforms are unconsciously influenced by a clean shaven, neat appearance.

Beard versus Brow

So with scruffy conservative challenger, Rajoy, with his ill-fitting suits and salt & pepper, shaggy beard I was dubious as to whether he could pull through a victory, based solely on his looks. A shallow view of politics, perhaps, but probably realistic. However, Zapatero's highly defined, arched eye brows give him a bit of a shifty appearance, so I was giving Zapatero only slighty better odds in being re-elected.

History of Beards in Politics

In the U.S., Abe Lincoln was one of the most famous of Presidents to sport a beard but it was a look more popular for his time and there hasn't been a U.S. President in recent years with any facial hair. A clean shaven appearance makes people appear more youthful, clean and people tend to trust you more because of the way you look.

What's the Big Hairy Deal?

A beard can also be a sign of protest, a hairy protest against the status quo. In that way, Rajoy's appearance was fitting and appropriate, a strong visual representation to signify change to strongly differentiate him from the current president. Talk show host, David Letterman sported a beard in support of the recent television writer's strike, when Al Gore lost the presidency he went bearded and after dropping out ot the U.S. Presidential election, New Mexico Bill Richardson got his beard on.

To Beard Or Not To Beard?

If Rajoy was clean-shaven could he have won the election? In a country where Catholicism reigns, it is surprising a candidate could still be successfully re-elected when advocating such controversial social reforms as legalizing gay marriage and rapid divorces. All tallied, Zapatero's socialist party had close to 44% of the votes whereas the conversatives had just over 40%. Some political analysts conjecture that, in general, a candidate could gain an extra 5% in votes if they maintain a well manicured, clean shaven look. With such a tight margin, is the smartest thing that Rajoy's political advisors could have done was to hand him a razor?