Many of you all know that I am a political nerd, and that my true passion is for Illinois politics, so as i was doing my daily reading of the Capitolfax Blog I came about the question of the day, would President Lincoln have been elected today, because of his looks?

Since Lincoln is one of my heros, see the picture, this made me curious.  Mr. Lincoln as a homly looking person, certainly not considered attractive, even in his own time.  Many people place emphisis on someone looking "presidential."  I struggle with what this means at times but I think that it generally means that asstetics (please know what i mean i'm a lousy speller) play a large role in choosing a leader.  One of the best examples of this is the 1960 election, Kennedy v. Nixon.  Many believe that those who listened to the first televised debate on the radio believe that Nixon won the election.  Those who watched the debate however saw a handsom, poised Kennedy next to an ailing Nixon, who because he was sick may have appered to be sweating too much, uncomfortable on the stage, unconfident in his responses.  The conventional wisdom is this debate drove President Kennedy into the White House. 

I don't believe this is true.  While appearence may be one of several factors in deciding our Chief Executive I don't think it is the most important, nor is it even near the top of the list, look at how much flack John Edwards has caught for his $400 haircut.  Former Illinois Governor George Ryan is an "ugly man." Judy Baar Topinka is not an attractive woman, yet was able to be elected to state office several times.  Those currently leading in the polls in both primarys, Senator Clinton and Former Mayor Guiliani, aren't considered the most attractive candidates, yet they have the ideas that those in their parties are connecting with best.

So I believe that while President Lincoln may have paid for a stylist in this day and age that he still would have been elected.  He was above and beyond the candidate that the right ideas for the problems facing the nation at the time, and thank God that the electorate saw that then, and I hope they can now.

Give me your thoughts.