Edwards Hair Makes the News Again

[Gan]

For four decades, Joseph Torrenueva has cut the hair of Hollywood celebrities, from Marlon Brando to Bob Barker, so when a friend told him in 2003 that a presidential candidate needed grooming advice, he agreed to help.

The Beverly Hills hairstylist, a Democrat, said he hit it off with then-Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina at a meeting in Los Angeles that brought several fashion experts together to advise the candidate on his appearance. Since then, Torrenueva has cut Edwards's hair at least 16 times.

At first, the haircuts were free. But because Torrenueva often had to fly somewhere on the campaign trail to meet his client, he began charging $300 to $500 for each cut, plus the cost of airfare and hotels when he had to travel outside California.

Torrenueva said one haircut during the 2004 presidential race cost $1,250 because he traveled to Atlanta and lost two days of work.

"He has nice hair," the stylist said of Edwards in an interview. "I try to make the man handsome, strong, more mature and these are the things, as an expert, that's what we do."

It is some kind of commentary on the state of American politics that as Edwards has campaigned for president, vice president and now president again, his hair seems to have attracted as much attention as, say, his position on health care. But when his campaign reported in April that it had paid for two of his haircuts at $400 each, the political damage was immediate. With each punch line on late night TV his image as a self-styled populist making poverty his signature issue was further eroded.

Edwards said that he was embarrassed by the cost and that he "didn't know it would be that expensive," suggesting the haircuts were some kind of aberration given by "that guy" his staff had arranged. His wife, Elizabeth, made lots of jokes at her husband's expense and the campaign wished the whole issue would go away.

But Torrenueva's account of his long relationship with Edwards -- the first he's given -- probably guarantees that won't happen quite yet. And if $400 seemed a lot for a haircut, how about one for three times that?

Asked for a comment, the Edwards campaign said this week that Edwards had arranged for the stylist to give him numerous cuts over the past four years. But it said that a personal assistant handled paying for the haircuts and that Edwards didn't realize how much they cost.

more...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401258_pf.html
__________________________________________________ ___

Ok, I can buy the fact that he really liked the way the guy cuts hair. But I cant buy that the fact that he's flown the guy halfway across the US so he could cut his hair... And I really cant buy how he claims that he had no idea it cost that much... :wtf: Come on... you fly a hollywood stylist across the US over the period of a day or two just to cut your hair and you dont think it will cost more than a month's income that most of the impoverished people he's 'campaigning' for???

Its insulting that he does this to begin with, now the American public is insulted more for being thought of as idiotic enough to buy his story that he didnt know the cost...

:banghead:

Idiot.

[CrystalTears]

Actors fly in their hairstylists all the time, I don't see the big deal in that respect. However claiming ignorance of the cost is pretty ridiculous.

[Warriorbird]

Edwards should indeed quit now.

[Gan]

Actors fly in their hairstylists all the time, I don't see the big deal in that respect. However claiming ignorance of the cost is pretty ridiculous.

Actors who arent running for public office and expect others to vote for them because of their stance on issues like poverty.

[CrystalTears]

Oh yeah, he's a politician. I forgot that he wasn't an actor for a second there. He sure acts and behaves like one. My bad! :D

[Gan]

Hey, after this campaign he can always try his hand at acting in Hollywood. He's already got the house for it.

[Ilvane]

Is that the best they can come up with on Edwards?

:yawns:

[Gan]

Sadly enough, thats the only thing lately from the Edwards camp thats newsworthy, good or bad.

Your quote would have been better phrased:
"Is that the only thing they can come up with on Edwards?"

:yawn:

[Ilvane]

Actually, the talk about Ann Coulter going after Elizabeth Edwards has been on the news.

I don't really care how much any of these guys pay for haircuts. I'm not voting for him anyway.

Angela

[Gan]

If it werent for the Republicans, would we hear anything at all about Edwards?

This is the louder message IMO.

[Ilvane]

Well, you could probably say the same about many of the Republican candidates.

It would be nice if at least a couple of them were worth voting for.

Angela

[ElanthianSiren]

I don't believe that Edwards is worth voting for. These are the kind of mistakes green candidates make when they've not considered their voting base enough. :shrug: Who actually thought Edwards would be the frontrunner in 08 anyway?

[Gan]

Edwards did.

[Ilvane]

There aren't really a whole lot of issues with him aside from his hair and not knowing how much it cost..

There have been plenty of rich people who have talked about poverty and still did a lot to help it. Does that mean he's any less sincere than say Bill Gates, or something?

I like what he has to say for the most part, but I don't think he's going to win any elections. This stuff is kind of lame to go after on a candidate, but whatever floats your boat.

Angela

[ElanthianSiren]

There aren't really a whole lot of issues with him aside from his hair and not knowing how much it cost..

There have been plenty of rich people who have talked about poverty and still did a lot to help it. Does that mean he's any less sincere than say Bill Gates, or something?

I like what he has to say for the most part, but I don't think he's going to win any elections. This stuff is kind of lame to go after on a candidate, but whatever floats your boat.

Angela


I'm not saying he's insincere, Angela; I'm saying he's green. It's like when you were 10, and they told you not to pose for any nudie photos because you might want a career in politics some day. A candidate has to be very careful about what attitude they're exuding with every action vs. what they, and those close to them, have said recently.

That's why his wife has come out so many times to say her breast cancer isn't a HUGE deal. Any woman diagnosed with breast cancer TWICE knows it's a huge deal, but the image has to be that they're lance armstrong-strong, so people won't feel, (in the highly unlikely instance that he is the candidate), that cancer will interfere with his ability to govern.

Personally, I like him; his handlers have done a good job presenting a man that you could sit down with and talk to, but I'm not willing to waste my vote on him because, weighing the risks vs. rewards, I don't feel he has a prayer. Voting isn't a popularity contest, nor should it be IMO; it's a business transaction, meaning you look at the (hopefully) long term viability in the vote you cast.

[DeV]

Most ridiculous candidate for the presidency ever.

[Gan]

There aren't really a whole lot of issues with him aside from his hair and not knowing how much it cost..

There have been plenty of rich people who have talked about poverty and still did a lot to help it. Does that mean he's any less sincere than say Bill Gates, or something?

I like what he has to say for the most part, but I don't think he's going to win any elections. This stuff is kind of lame to go after on a candidate, but whatever floats your boat.

Angela

(see bolded quote)

What rock do you live under again?

See:
Edwards 20,000+ mansion as relating to his stance on global warming, carbon offsets, and green platform.

Edwards accepting a huge speaking fee for a public speech on poverty.

Edwards speaking out on economic inequality and expecting to be believeable.

The 2004 election loss conspiracy.

And of course Edwards haircuts.

If Edwards were smart, he'd offer Coulter a stipend to follow him around on the campaign trail just to keep his name in the media so people would feel sorry enough for him to contribute to his campaign.

[Ilvane]

Did you read anything but the bolded information?

Like I said, I don't care if someone is rich and has a big house and uses more energy than me. He's earned it.

Do I care if he got a 1000 dollar hair cut? Nope, not really. If he wants to waste his money on that, that's his own stupidity.

Does it change what he wants to do for policy? No.

When it comes down to it all, what do those above things really do to hurt anyone?

Anyone who listens to Ann Coulter and her blathering really needs help.

Angela

[Alfster]

...

Ganalon stole my sig

:(

(mine's cooler)

[DeV]

He's like the political version of Paris Hilton. On the other hand I could care less how much his haircuts cost. The media is so retarded at times.

[Tolwynn]

Did you read anything but the bolded information?

Like I said, I don't care if someone is rich and has a big house and uses more energy than me. He's earned it.

Do I care if he got a 1000 dollar hair cut? Nope, not really. If he wants to waste his money on that, that's his own stupidity.

Does it change what he wants to do for policy? No.

When it comes down to it all, what do those above things really do to hurt anyone?

Anyone who listens to Ann Coulter and her blathering really needs help.

Angela

And folks wonder why the Democratic congress is just as crappy as the Republican one, heh. People that willing to turn a blind eye to those in their own party are hardly going to give any candidate a reason to ever change their stripes.

[radamanthys]

Hypocrites in politics are fair game to be demonized. Not that any politician is honest. By design, they're narcissistic and power-hungry and probably unfit for the job.

[Ilvane]

See, Tolwynn, this is where you have it wrong.

I don't care about this stupid stuff. Give me some real policy reasons not to vote for someone. This goes for the Republican side too. I don't care how many times someone has been married, or what religion they are. I want to know what they want to do with this country.

It's about the policies they want to put into place.

The big problem with the media is that stuff like this gets big news coverage. Why? Because it's a slow news day? Hardly. It's fluff.

Angela

[CrystalTears]

But thankfully we have you to point out the stupid news. Thanks for taking the time to tell us little people the truth.

/sarcasm

[Ilvane]

Oh get off your high horse CT, seriously.

Oh wait, I forgot you pride yourself as being a bitch. Mission accomplished.

Angela

[CrystalTears]

You're the one on your high horse, pointing out how stupid and full of fluff this story is. A story and thread you could have easily dismissed and then clicked out of onto something else. But instead you chose to be a bitch about it as well.

So kindly go fuck yourself. Delete your posts again.

[Ilvane]

The story is stupid. Maybe you see that as a major issue in the Presidential campaign, but it's not exactly an important issue in comparison to the real issues in the country and outside.


Angela

[Celephais]

So kindly go fuck yourself. Delete your posts again.

hehehe

[Sean]

Fiscal responsibility says something about a nominee. Spending a few grand on haircuts and then claiming "Oh heh i didn't know they were costing me that much." says a good deal about someones character.

I, unlike Ganalon, completely believe that he had no idea how much these haircuts costs because it simply doesn't matter to someone of his ilk.

[Gan]

As Sean said, this goes a long way to demonstrating that the man walks the talk. This demonstrates what he's about. And when he just thinks that his hollywood hairdresser just magically 'appeared' in Atlanta to cut his hair and that there was no associated costs, then I have a hard time believing that. Especially when we all know the guy's pretty smart when it comes to money. So to further hide and say he 'didnt know' because it was handled by his assistnt just wreaks of the same excuse Paris Hilton gave the judge when she said she 'didnt know' she had a suspended license because her publicist was handling the details.

Thanks for playing.

[Ilvane]

Yeah, kind of reminds you of how most of the politicians couldn't tell someone how much a gallon of milk costs.

Sad, I guess..but I think it just shows how out of touch most of them are with the real world..LOL

[Skeeter]

I have no idea how much a gallon of milk costs. I haven't done much grocery shopping since I got married. I guess I shouldn't be president either.

[SpunGirl]

If I had contributed to his campaign because I believed in his platform and felt that he could make a difference with regards to poverty, I'd be fucking pissed. Politicians *should* lead by example. Not that any of them do, Edwards isn't the first.

-K

[CrystalTears]

Leave Edwards alone. He needs to look good for his poverty presentations! The real news is on those politicians who don't know the price of bread. For shame!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v412/Jemah/IM-IN-UR/Kittensaves.jpg

[Warriorbird]

Stop defending Edwards. Even Democrats in his own state detest him.

[Gan]

Stop defending Edwards. Even Democrats in his own state detest him.
...

I really like Edwards. ...

[Sean]

Not knowing the cost of milk isn't a huge deal because the cost is more or less consistent for everyone across the board. Unless of course they are drinking milk delivered straight from the teat that has been infused with the tears of infants which I can see costing more. A haircut should be more or less within a consistent range too... $10-$20 maybe more if you happen to be a metrosexual like Anticor or Arkans and need a stylist. But how many average people can fathom spending over $1,000 on a haircut?

I mean yea when you reach a certain status the how and whys of spending your dollars are going to be different than the average joe's. We expect our celebs and I guess now to a degree our politicians to have lives of excess. But when your campaigning and one of your key points is as follows (taken from his webpage http://johnedwards.com/about/issues/ ) :

Eliminating Poverty
"Every day, 37 million Americans wake in poverty. Our response to that reality says everything about the character of America."

I would certainly say it applies to him as well. What did this action say about his individual character in relation to the 37 million Americans who awaken in poverty everyday?

[Skeeter]

He's trying to spread the wealth?

[Celephais]

http://images.southparkstudios.com/media/images/103/scary_cartman.gif
Thirty ... Seven ... MILLION ... Poor people. That's right, poor people.

[Gan]

ROFL

[TheEschaton]

I always thought he was a moron and that he sunk Kerry's campaign, personally. A Kerry-Daschle ticket, while perhaps the most boring ticket ever, would have been better.

Oh, and I was trying on suits the other day, and found one I really liked. Took it up to the counter, and saw the label was Hugo Boss and cost $800, and I was like, uh, fuck this, I'm not buying a suit that costs 4 times more than any of my other suits. But see - it's not hard to find a price.

-TheE-

[Apathy]

It's not like Edwards as a nominee has any real merit to it. 1/4 the $ of the front-runners = "I'm giving my full support to the person (had to actually use person) who outfunded me."

[Snapp]

I don't see this as a huge deal, but then I don't see Edwards as a big deal either. He should just drop out.

[thefarmer]

I don't see how him getting large paychecks, or spending money on things like haircuts is a bad thing. He's wealthy. He can spend his money as he likes. I'm sure for his defense he can point to how much he's donated to various causes for poverty and the like. It's just not as newsworthy, not that I give much of a rat's tit about this either.

I'm sure every other candidate spends money just like he does. I bet that if we got a line-item spending list for all the other candidates there'd be just as many stupid, overpriced things they've spent money on.

I'm still not voting for him, though. But this didn't make much of a difference either way.

[Back]

I don't see how him getting large paychecks, or spending money on things like haircuts is a bad thing. He's wealthy. He can spend his money as he likes. I'm sure for his defense he can point to how much he's donated to various causes for poverty and the like. It's just not as newsworthy, not that I give much of a rat's tit about this either.

I'm sure every other candidate spends money just like he does. I bet that if we got a line-item spending list for all the other candidates there'd be just as many stupid, overpriced things they've spent money on.

I'm still not voting for him, though. But this didn't make much of a difference either way.

Very good points.

And this is not really news. Its petty smear tactics. Put the magnifying glass on all the candidates and I bet you this rates bottom of the barrel.