McCain's $5,000 Makeup: Will There Be Backlash?

So, John McCain has reportedly paid more than $5,500 to Tifanie White, the makeup artist who works on "American Idol," for similar cosmetic services. It is yet another incident of a politician -- regardless of ideological stripe -- coughing up a lot of money for the sake of good looks.

Earlier this cycle, one may recall, former Sen. John Edwards was subjected to days of ridicule over the fact that he had made two separate payments of $400 for two haircuts. Leading the charge was the media -- keen on pointing out that a self-professed man of the people was spending the equivalent of a months rent, in some places, on personal grooming. The Associated Press ran a story that began: "Looking pretty is costing John Edwards' presidential campaign a lot of pennies."

But several high-ranking and prominent conservatives were also leveling the mockery. Rush Limbaugh asked whether the North Carolinian would be our nation's "first female President."

Mike Huckabee quipped that Democrats had the propensity to spend "more than John Edwards in a beauty shop."

The Republican National Committee put together a document calling Edwards a "pricey haircut enthusiast" and declaring that "the former North Carolina senator's populist drive has hit a series of troubling land mines" because of his two expenditures.

And Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) went to New Hampshire and, in a dig at Edwards, got a $400 haircut of his own. The normal price was $17; the difference between the amounts was given to charity.

So now that McCain has spent 13 times as much on makeup as Edwards did on haircuts, will we be hearing from these folks again? Undoubtedly, no.

Republican officials have been caught ponying up big bucks for superficial items before -- Mitt Romney spent $300 on makeup during the primary -- and little has been made of it. And while McCain has taken lumps for the number of houses he owns (or for forgetting how many houses he owns), the fact remains that the media sees more contradiction when it is a populist politician making these types of payments. Pollster Mark Mellman's declaration in the wake of the Edwards haircut flap seems still valid today:

"Voters vote mainly on who the person is. He's trying to communicate a message about who he is, a person who does not forget where he comes from... The haircut issue is significant in that context; it cuts against the story."

Comments

[zg1968]

Embalming fluid is not cheap...

[murly]

LOL!!!!!

[littlepuffycloud]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Independent-for-Obama]

The $5,000 cover-up that isn't working. I am seriously concerned about McCain's health when he believes he needs this high of priced make-up to hide his true status from the public.

[paulf40]

Sam Stein actually got this backwards - items like this gain traction when they work with the narrative rather than against it. The Edwards $400 haircut story worked because it played into the rich vain pretty boy lawyer who dabbles in politics story line which was the largely the reason that Edwards had so much trouble getting his intended populist image to take hold. Keep in mind that none of us really know if $400 is out of line for a typical politician haircut - It may or may not be the norm and I suspect it is fairly normal. Similarly we have no idea what typical politician pay for makeup. If you try to compare the McCain's makeup to Edwards's haircut that's never going to stick because McCain has not been pretty for a long long time. The story that would resonate is "in a desperate attempt to reassure the American electorate that he is not going to keel over and die any second now wrinkly old man McCain attempts to hide obvious health problems and old wrinklyness with expensive daily makeovers."

[yhgtup]

$5500??? McScarey needs to get his money back. He STILL looks McPastey-Face!!!

[Kane]

In her quite moments, Cindy McCain is laughing her butt off. Who's the trolup now, John?!

[iv64]

What butt? She is always smiling/laughing, she pays for that too. You think those pill come cheap?!

[vfippinger]

Now that is what I call put.ting lip.sti.ck. on a p.i.g!

[thinkingcatholic]

Wow...what a maverick. we'll he's got to look pretty driving his 13 cars around his many many properties.

[loki]

no one will say a thing about this, or at least very little. Problem is, Democrats dont always stoop as low as republcans do, so things like this get a free ride, and rethugs know it.

[JJaycee]

I've been saying this for years. I don't like it, but the Dems have to start slinging mud. It's the only thing that half the country will pay attention to, sadly.

[GhostNyc]

The new McCain campaign strategy- RUN & HIDE.

[WHATISTHIS]

"WE'RE TRYING TO RESCUE THE ECONOMY, NOT THE MCCAIN CAMPAIGN"

RONALD REGAN: JOHN MCCAIN HERE WE GO AGAIN!

1). THE ECONOMIC IS FUNDAMENTALLY STRONG!
2). LETS NOT BAILOUT AIG!
3). LET BAIL OUT AIG!
4).I HAVE NOT REVIEW THIS 700 BILLION PLAN
5). SH*T I JUST REVIEW THE PLAN, AND THIS ECONOMIC IS NOT FUNDAMENTALLY STRONG!
6). MY FRIENDS, MY FRIENDS, MY FRIENDS MY POLL NUMBER ARE SINKING
LETS CANCEL THESE DEBATE!
7). BALKBERRY MOMENT PLEASE, EMAIL THE PRESS AND TOLD THEM THAT THE VP DEBATE
SHOULD BE CANCEL TOO!

ENUFF IS ENUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WILL THE REAL MCCAIN PLEASE STAND UP!
IF NOT INVITE BOB BARR TO THE DEBATE THIS CRISIS, JOHN CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH!!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1185304443/bctid1815802871

GO BARACK OBAMA 2008

[TXfemmom]

Even $5,000 makeup artists can only do so much. After all, they aren't painting on a canvas, but a real, live?, breathing person who just happens to resemble Frankenstein's monster that hasn't seen daylight in a long, long time.

Were this a DEM, the Republicans would be screaming their heads off. Additionally, if this woman can make $5,000 for making up McGrumpy one time, and she just went to Beauty School to learn to do makeup, ALL OF US ARE IN THE WRONG FIELD.

[SilentShout]

Funny. My thought was that she must be an incredibly skilled craftsman.

[dimplesmile7]

It is not helping. He should has given the money to Cindy. At least she could have bought another ugly overpriced outfit.

[mbh78213]

"He should has given the money to Cindy." More like, "He should have let Cindy keep that money" -- since most of his money is actually Cindy's.

[nermin]

While McCain has been labeled as most media obsessed senator out there $5000 really sounds like a lot of money. Knowing his skin cancer history, as well as refusal to open his medical records could it be that the real reason for this is not "obsession with good looks", but rather trying to hide something like dark cancer spots.

[MsBeale]

"He's trying to communicate a message about who he is, a person who does not forget where he comes from... "

So McCain is as much of a hypocrite as Edwards was. His make-up contradicts his message, "I'm fine! I'm perfectly fit and healthy!"

And he seems to have forgotten the most important part of where he came from - being a POW, right? That's all of his background we need to know. He was a POW who couldn't get any foundation or mascara for 5 1/2 years.

[Osiris1906]

I think the campaign is maybe going to a make up artist that specializes in the wrong thing. Instead of getting the woman that does the make up for American Idol, they might be better served to inquire about the services of some of the nation's better morticians. I'm sure working on making corspes look life-like is more fitting experience for making McCain look less dreadful than prettying up a bunch of 20-something aspiring pop stars.