The Tortellini

John Edwards costly coif

Presidential candidate John Edwards is certainly taking a beating in the press for employing the services of high-priced hair and make up stylists. But Edwards is hardly the only straight male presidential  candidate to spend some money on his looks and bill his campaign for it.

A few years ago, I wrote this story about George W. Bush's presidential campaign, which was apparently (and illegally) using money Bush had raised for his gubernatorial races in Texas to finance parts of his 2000 run for the White House. Among other interesting things, Texas campaign finance records showed that the governor's campaign committee had paid $275 to Glenda Facemire, the head make-up artist for the TV show Austin City Limits. When I called her in 2003, she told me she made up both George and Laura throughout the 2000 campaign.

Facemire's rates are comparable to what Edwards reportedly paid for his pre-TV primping in Iowa and New Hampshire, but maybe it's just more manly to have someone from Austin City Limits blushing your cheeks than the gals at the Pink Sapphire...

A Man of Principle, and not just on TV?

Former GOP senator and "Law and Order" star Fred Thompson takes to the blogosphere this week to defend his anti-tort reform votes.

His articulate response to Friday's National Review article, "Thompson's Tort Trouble," is a bit like a voice in the wilderness. Thompson is the lone Republican these days who actually seems to understand what Federalism is, and his blog piece criticizes some of his fellow conservatives for invoking it only when it suits their political needs. If this is the real Fred Thompson, I suspect he promises to be a pretty serious presidential candidate--and not just because he plays a good guy on TV..