http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/18/opinion/18JONG.html?todaysheadlines
August 18,
2001 Al Gore's beard has been the biggest image news for him since The Kiss.
Everyone knew that he loved Tipper, but when he smooched her on national
television, his ratings with women shot up. The new-grown beard has caused some predictable political grumbling. Advisers
have warned that facial fuzziness might lead to political suicide. But I think
it's just what he needs. A beard on Al Gore says: I'm my own man now. It wouldn't work on other politicians (think of Gary Condit with a beard),
but it may be just the bad-boy ballast Mr. Gore required. It gives him a
rebellious, devil-may-care edge. It tells us there's a new sheriff in town and
he's got a bit of outlaw in him. It's his answer to George W.'s cowboy boots.
Al Gore's problem was always his tendency to seem too goody-goody good boy.
Most people felt he had a people-pleasing problem. We felt he had followed a
script written for him by Mommy and Daddy. We felt he had never rebelled against
their expectations. The beard changes everything. It smacks of long-repressed
rebellion. It says: Love me for who I am or not at all. What do American women want in a president? The same thing we want in a
husband. Someday we might have a woman candidate, but until then, women want
someone masculine but not so masculine that we can't control him. We want
someone empathic but not so empathetic that he'd be soft on Saddam Hussein. In
short, we want the impossible androgyny that dares not speak its name. Very few politicians can fulfill this impossible dream. But those who can
have our hearts forever. Think of the folksy humanity of Ike and Ronald Reagan.
Al Gore clearly is softened and humanized by his beard. It was Mr. Gore's misfortune to follow the most popular adulterer in American
history. Women hated what Bill Clinton did, but we just couldn't seem to hate
Mr. Clinton. He was just such a good communicator. He talked to us. He listened
to us. He was in touch with our feelings. He was the communicative husband we'd
always longed for. Mr. Gore had been faithful to Tipper, but he got no points for that. What
does this tell us? That bad boys unlock our passions in a way that defies
reason. He was just too nice. He was smart. He was literate. He was
well-prepared for the presidency. None of that was enough. What then did he
lack? The bearded allure of the highwayman, the pirate, the rebel leader seem to
counteract the android in Al Gore. Throughout the campaign of 2000, Al Gore seemed supremely uncomfortable in
his skin. In the debates, he was either too laid back or too aggressive. The
first time he seemed totally at peace with himself was in his concession speech.
Too bad he didn't think of the beard sooner. Even as I write this I suspect a razor is hovering somewhere near Al Gore's
ambivalent chin. Come on Al, embrace your inner outlaw. Flaunt those bristles.
Give us a chance to love you when you're bad.Sometimes a Beard Changes Everything
By ERICA JONG
hat is it about hair? Alexander Pope got it right as a sexual symbol
in "The Rape of the Lock." A snipped curl came to stand for lost virginity.
Facial hair on men is also a powerful symbol. It represents nonconformity,
masculinity and unruliness. Bill Clinton has all this without facial hair.
George W. Bush has that smirk some women find cute. Al Gore needs a touch of the
animal. He has found it in a beard.
-- Anonymous, August 18, 2001