<p>Speaking of male candidates getting plastic surgery, John McCain obviously had work done on his neck before his Presidential campaign. Petty comments about his appearance (for ex., his inability to raise his arms normally) really ticked me off, given the cause.</p>
<p>Or we could also note that Obama’s hair has appeared slightly gray at the temple, then back to no gray, then lots of gray, then back to the temples, etc. </p>
<p>It would seem as if there’s something of a search for that grizzled but still vigorous looking sweet spot going on. I guess only his hairdresser knows for sure.</p>
<p>Look for the fixation on aspects of her physical appearance to continue. Surprised no one has gone after the stiff hairspray hair yet.</p>
<p>pizzagirl, coureur, Michelle Bachmann’s “looks”, in general, are just fine (better than just fine, actually.) But she takes on a strange look at times which makes her look like she’s staring off into the future - sort of like the old Soviet-realism posters of Lenin. I don’t know why she looks that way, although a variety of opinions have been expressed. And it’s not something that shows up in every picture - mostly in straight-on shots. The Newsweek photo is certainly not the first to show it. The criticism of Newsweek was for choosing that photo instead of a more flattering one, but it’s still a photo - she really looks like that at times.</p>
<p>And I still have no idea why she was staring off camera when she gave the Tea Party commentary on the State of the Union address.</p>
<p>Oh yikes! Of course, the truly first viable female candidate was Hillary. And then there was Shirley Chisholm . . . a senior moment there.</p>
<p>Of course you’re for her, Kluge. For the same reason I’m not.</p>
<p>sewhappy, if you’re suggesting that Obama colors his hair, I think you are wrong. My son’s hair does the same thing. How much gray shows depends on the lighting, not the hair. It pretty much stands to reason that if the president of the United States were dying his hair that he would have a professional do it. The way you describe it sounds like the result of a some guy bending over the bathroom sink with a bottle of Walgreen’s hair dye or something. Let’s get real.</p>
<p>As for Bachmann looking away from the camera in her speech after the SOTU, her staff said there were two cameras, not one, and someone told her to look into the wrong one.</p>
<p>I met her once and she is tiny. I would 5’2" at max It is possible that her eyes look odd because she is always looking up.</p>
<p>Sewhappy-I noticed her hair before the eyes. I didn’t think hairspray. My thought was it looked like the wigs that many orthodox jewish women wear.</p>
<p>Her eyes looked completely normal tonight while talking to Huckabee. In fact, she looked the best I’ve see her (including her hair). Who knows–maybe one of her staff read this thread and some image consultant figured out how to fix the eye problem. When my son worked for a Presidential campaign, his job was to cull this sort of comments from media sources.</p>
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<p>What a fun and interesting assignment!</p>
<p>Let’s forget all of this nonpolitical discussion and talk about me. Early this year, my opthamologist referred me to a lid specialist for a medical reason. It only took a few minutes for the specialist to look at my droopy aging skin and try to upsell me on a blepharoplasty. Given a pretty hard sell and his appeal to my vanity, I scheduled the surgery…then thought about it for a day and cancelled.</p>
<p>Last night - after thinking about what gives eyes an odd look - I raised the skin above my lids with a q-tip like the doctor had. I realized that there is about a sixteenth of an inch difference between looking younger and looking like Charles Manson. Try it at home…if your lid is in any way above your iris, even the tiniest bit, you look a bit wild-eyed. Don’t know if I’ll ever have that blepharoplasty, or if I do, I will investigate the doctor very carefully.</p>
<p>Actually if I were Obama, and desired to cover the gray, I would think it a better move to surreptitiously use a bottle of Walgreen’s dye than to go to a professional and risk the accusations of elite foppery and self-indulgence – “as the economy burns, Obama gets his hair done professionally.”</p>
<p>I thought of you all this morning when I saw this political cartoon in my newspaper –
[Chan</a> Lowe | Sun-Sentinel Blogs | Chan Lowe: Infamous Bachmann Newsweek cover](<a href=“http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2011/08/chan_lowe_infamous_bachmann_ne.html]Chan”>http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2011/08/chan_lowe_infamous_bachmann_ne.html)</p>
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<p>My mom had it done (because she couldn’t see due to lid drooping into her field of vision) and I’ve known several other people (including men) who have had it done - none of them had a crazy eye look. One thing I’ve heard is having a brow lift will also cause that surprised eye look, more so that eye lid surgery. FWIW, a well-preserved 63 year old Dermatologist friend told me that getting your eyes done was fine but avoid a brow lift at all costs.</p>
<p>Most people have something slightly off about their looks, eveb very attractive people. That’s why everyone is not a movie star.I would bet that on average politicians are better looking than the typical citizen.
Palin. Bachmann, clinton, Pelosi, landrieux, Nicky Haley, Condi, they all look reasonably good to me. I’m sure the same sort of thing is true in general about male pols. Of course my personal favorite is Loretta Sanchez.</p>
<p>Have to say I like Christie’s in-your-face-I-like-to-eat look. It’s refreshing. I also always found Bill Clinton’s chubbiness appealing. Well aware of the health consequences, of course. Wish them both longevity and health.</p>
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<p>Can you find out who did Barbara Walter’s work? I think she looks phenomenal at her age, even if it took a little change out of her pocket to do it.</p>
<p>I agree that part of Christie’s charm is his “I’ll do it my way” attitude, including the extra weight. Clinton’s extra weight was just enough to not make him look fat but more like a regular Joe.</p>
<p>I saw Huckabee on TV today and didn’t realize he’s gained back a lot of the weight he shed for the presidential run.</p>
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I don’t think it was unattractive, but I found his subsequent cardiac issues (pardon the expression) heartbreaking. He looked cadaverous after the last heart incident. I hope he is eating more healthy now, but likely the damage is done.</p>
<p>I agree with sewhappy on Pelosi. She has the look of an aging soap opera villain.</p>
<p>I think Pelosi looks great, and dresses great too.</p>