That's cheating, man!

These days politics pretty much disgust and depress me. Growing up I wanted to be Mayor of Philadelphia. No joke. I read books about my hometown mayor, Frank Rizzo; Chicago’s Richard Daley; and those corrupt big city mayors from earlier in the 20th century. I wanted to learn from their successes and mistakes. I wanted to wield power for the good of The People, shape civic pride, throw out the first pitch on Opening Day… I wanted to shake hands with strangers and kiss babies… I wanted to call out Public Enemies for my political gain now and then. Most of my priorities were in the right place. At some point in the mid-’80s, the dream ended along with so many other idealistic notions from my youth. The ’80s were a dream assassin, man.

As politics revealed itself as a world too cynical for even me, Ronald Reagan did usher in one fascinating trend: Presidential Hair. Harkening back to the idealistic coif of JFK, Reagan’s ‘do set the tone for future political campaigns. The humble strands of hair remaining on a candidate like Paul Tsongas would forever be at a disadvantage. The team of scientists and architects behind Joe Biden‘s hairline would be only Vice Presidential in reach. Presidential Hair does not ensure a seat in the Oval Office, but since the triumph of Reagan, each election sets a new crop of hair-hoppers across American campaign trails.

If we ever get around to conducting Townsman alexmagic‘s long-promised election of an international President of Rock, we should prepare for the role that Presidential Hair might play in the race. Simply put: What rockers have the most Presidential Hair? How do we define Presidential Hair as it applies to our future President of Rock? Is Elvis the JFK of Rock Presidential Hair? A particular era in Beatles hair styling?

Chances are the book has yet to be written, but it won’t hurt us to see if we can’t take a peak at the outline.