Bad Hair Day?

Things are a bit hairy in the blogosphere these days.

The issue du jour is John Edwards's haircut--two of them, to be precise--at $400 a pop.

You might think that this would be too trivial to spark a major online debate, but hair matters, apparently. It's a metaphor for . . . well, for something very important.

Liberal bloggers are saying that either a) Edwards is getting a bum rap; b) the media are to blame, or c) Edwards should have known better.

I have no particular expertise in this matter, since my neighborhood place charges only $14. But I've gotten a lot of haircuts in my life--some even as much as $30!

What triggered the debate was a Maureen Dowd column in which she said America is not ready for a "metrosexual" as president:

"John Edwards has reminded us that even -- or especially -- in the age of appearances, you must not appear to care too much about appearances.

"When you spend more on a couple of haircuts than Burundi's per capita G.D.P. , it looks so vain it makes Paul Wolfowitz's ablutions spitting on his comb look like rugged individualism.

"Following his star turn primping his hair for two minutes on a YouTube video to the tune of 'I Feel Pretty,' Mr. Edwards this week had to pay back the $800 charged to his campaign for two shearings at Torrenueva Hair Designs in Beverly Hills. He seems intent on proving that he is a Breck Girl -- and a Material Boy."

Breck Girl, by the way, was a shot taken anonymously by a Bush aide in the NYT during the last campaign.

Blogger Garance Franke-Ruta can't get over the size of the bill (which involved the stylist traveling to wherever Edwards was):

"I guess this one isn't going to go away that quickly. Maureen Dowd rips into John Edwards for receiving two $400 haircuts from Torreneuva Hair Designs in Beverly Hills . . .