Last week, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations told us that he’s seriously thinking about a 2012 bid. The Wall Street Journal takes a look at Bolton’s first hurdle — his ‘stache:
But the modern presidential face has remained staunchly bare—and given the long odds against Mr. Bolton, he’s unlikely to change that. Mustachioed Republican Thomas Dewey lost the presidential elections of 1944 and 1948. When a photo of President Obama last year suggested he might have had a day-old growth on his upper lip, the sparse shadow made headlines and quickly disappeared.
There is hope for the mustachioed diplomat:
[Allan] Peterkin, the beard historian who is Canadian and wasn’t familiar with Mr. Bolton’s appearance, had only complimentary things to say after first viewing his photo. “It’s a nice one! There’s a bit of Mark Twain,” he said. “[Voters] may harken back to Taft, and other Americans who had fine mustaches and beards. There’s something classical about it.”
That’s good news for Mr. Bolton, who said he grew his mustache 40 years ago and is sticking with it: “I’ve never shaved it off,” he said, “and I don’t intend to.”