Blago’s bad hair meme (with Pawlenty cameo!) « Minnesota Independent: News. Politics. Media.

Forget Gov. Rod Blagovejich’s “supercilious attitude towards government ethics, we’re more concerned with his super silly cilium (he was trying to line his coffers when he shoulda been lining up a new coiffure!).” That’s how pop culture site Complex.com kicks off its (hopefully annual) list of “worst haircuts in politics.“ Blago’s ‘do has been widely noted — from Vanity Fair’s Bill Bradley who uses it as evidence that the governor “is nuts” to Salon.com’s headline about his “bad hair day” (”the perfectly coiffed politician is under arrest, sunk by his own vanity“) — but it’s nice to see a local make Complex’s grade. Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who’s off-again on-again “Bemidji neckwarmer” has been noted here, gets lowest billing, after Blago, John Edwards, Trent Lott, Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin.

An editorial cartoonist’s dream, Blagojevich’s hair has been commented upon widely, including by many mainstream news outlets that see it as diagnostic of…something. The New York Times’ Gail Collins, wondering how someone with Blagojevich’s 13 percent approval rating won election in the first place, writes, “I am personally leaning toward the theory that it was the hair. Blagojevich tossed his thick brown mane and the voters told each other: ‘Yes, he sounds a little dumb. But truly, this is the hair of a reformer.’”

Then there’s the angle that Blago’s locks may mean he’s loco. The Chicago Sun-Times talked to psychologists who say the governor’s perfectly managed image and “grandiose sense of self” could be indicative of “narcissistic personality disorder” (the “hairbrained” story includes a reader poll: “Do you think Blagojevich is crazy?”).

And, of course, comedians are having a field day. Wonkette’s headline says the governor’s “terrible hair has been found guilty of everything,” while Jon Stewart reported that The Daily Show would have “complete coverage of Blagojevich tomorrow, including what I can only assume will be the filing of charges alleging beaver-pelt smuggling as well.”

Now, a look at the visual side of things:

In 2005, the blog The Inside Dope joked that the governor’s hair was going rogue:

A courtroom sketch this week by Cheryl Cook captures Blagojevich, apparently on his way to modeling sportswear in the 1983 JC Penney catalogue:

Then came the cartoonists, who seemed to give the hair equal billing to the “seat” Blagojevich wanted to sell (images via Political Humor at About.com):

Curiously, a look at Google Trends shows that during the last month, the number of American news references to “Blagojevich” was catching up to the number of media mentions for the more generic “hair.”