OxBlog

# Posted 8:23 AM by Ariel David Adesnik

THE UNKINDEST CUT -- EDWARDS' $400 STYLIST SPEAKS OUT: Joseph Torrenueva thought that he was friends with John Edwards. But once the cost of Torrenueva's haircuts became public knowledge, the candidate acted as if Torrenueva was a stranger:

In the days after the $400 haircut first caused a stir, Torrenueva did not give many details about his client to reporters who called or came by his Beverly Hills salon. But Torrenueva says he was hurt by Edwards's response to all the flap.

"I'm disappointed and I do feel bad. If I know someone, I'm not going to say I don't know them," he said. "When he called me 'that guy,' that hit my ears. It hurt." He paused and then added, "I still like him. . . . I don't want to hurt him."

Torrenueva said he normally charges men $175 when they come to his salon for a haircut. But the cost for Edwards went up because the stylist had to leave his shop and go on the road to do his haircuts.

That's right. Edwards paid Torrenueva to travel cross-country and give the candidate a haircut. The cost?

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.

On the bright side, Edwards isn't the only candidate who has found it necessary to import a stylist:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) had her own minor version of the Edwards treatment after her Senate campaign spent nearly $3,000 in fees and travel for two sessions with stylist Isabelle Goetz.

Word on the street is that Obama is now looking for a stylist who will charge at least $5,000. But the real problem here is that money plays too much of a role in presidential campaigns. The time has come for the federal government to appoint a personal stylist for each candidate.

Labels: Haircuts, John Edwards

(10) opinions -- Add your opinion

Comments:

Wouldn't this problem solve itself if only near-hairless trolls could run for President?

# posted by

L. C. Staples : 9:51 AM

Slow news day, David?

Sammler,

Not just near-hairless trolls, but really bad combovers like this.

# posted by

Anonymous : 12:38 PM

Actually, Randy, I was looking for a post I could do in around 10 minutes before driving to work.

But I would still wouldn't label the haircut story as something that's only for a slow news day. As the Post observed in the article to which I linked:

"When [Edwards'] 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."

Something really does seem off about Edwards' political sensibilities. Republicans can just enjoy making fun of the man, but I know serious Democrats who think this is a real indication of Edwards' unfitness to be the nominee (if taking back the White House is priority #1).

# posted by

Ariel David Adesnik : 1:52 PM

Is Patrick Belton still writing for Oxblog? Havn't seen anything from him in a while.

# posted by

Anonymous : 5:27 PM

Well the Democrats I know - including Hillary and Obama supporters think that it's poppycock. They're actually more concerned about a candidate who would joke about bombing Iran.

# posted by

Anonymous : 8:47 PM

What a revelation this article is. It established that the haircuts themselves weren't even $400 dollars. The payment was to compensate the guy for closing his shot. That's a considerable distinction.

And doesn't the Washington Post have a standard for the level of stupidity that journalists are supposed to have? "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." Well, no kidding, John Solomon. It's because schmucks like you decide to write about it in leiu of actual ISSUES!

Me being a Democrat myself, I know a considerable number of like-minded dems. I don't know a single one who thinks this an issue worthy of consideration. The only time I've heard someone say "I know 'serious' Democrats who think this is an indication of his lack of fitness, etc." the person who says this is always a Republican. If a Democrat has said this, they can't be "serious".

Where's the story about the amount of money Bush pays a company to stock the man-make lake at his ranch with fish? IMO, that's a far more obscene way to spend lots of money (which is probably ours, anyway), but I wouldn't say that should be any indication that he's unfit to be president. But that story doesn't have the suggestive hook that a man getting expensive haircuts has. And you know the suggestive hook I'm talking about. Hint: it has something to do with what Ann Coulter once called Edwards several months ago. Y'know, the word that begins with an 'F' and ends with a 'G'?

# posted by

Anonymous : 3:13 PM

Closing his SHOP, I obviously meant.

# posted by

Anonymous : 3:14 PM

David went to Oxford to write about this?
Disappointing.

# posted by

Anonymous : 4:04 PM

Although a $400 haircut is extravagant there are bigger fish to fry in the presidential election. There are policies in place to help end global poverty. The 191 UN member nations agreed to the Millennium Development Goals. One of the eight goals is the eradication of poverty and includes cutting hunger in half by 2015. The issues need to be further addressed by the presidential candidates in order for them to have a successful platform.

# posted by

Anonymous : 5:39 PM

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# posted by

123 : 9:52 PM