This past weekend, Presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hilary Rodham Clinton hit the beauty salons in South Carolina to compete for the much needed black vote in this week's South Carolina primaries.
This New York Daily News story reported that for the past few months Obama has been leading a grass roots effort that involves pumping people up about politics where they primp. (For those of you who have never dedicated entire Saturdays to getting your hair done in an African American establishment, here is where folks congregate, converse and complain about everything under the sun.)
In response to Obama's efforts, Ms. Clinton mailed out hundreds of cardboard fliers showing her hairstyles over the years and she gave the keynote address at last year's annual convention of the National Beauty Culturists' League, an 88-year-old association of black hairstylists.
That said, I think it's interesting that every time fashion is brought up in politics people cringe. They grouse that it's not important. However, whether it's Republican hopeful Mitt Romney's helmet hair, North Carolina Senator John Edwards' $400 haircuts or John McCain and Rudy Guiliani's adaption of the dotted tie, style is something we all easily relate to. We pay attention to fashion, whether politicians are talking about it, talking to it or wearing it. How much do you think fashion has to do with politics?
