South Dakota, you can trust me, I have a beard

Lite posting these days as I've been traveling for a couple weeks.  Some international travel coming soon so I expect lite posting to continue.  But, this I can't be quiet about….

Regular readers here will recall that I was pressured by seasoned advisors during my short-lived Congressional campaign to lose the facial hair - I was told that older gals don't vote for men who are hiding behind something. Well, apparently that ain't so…

A recent study in the Journal of Marketing Communications found that men with beards were deemed more credible than those who were clean-shaven. The study showed participants pictures of men endorsing certain products. In some photos, the men were clean-shaven. In others, the same men had beards. Participants thought the men with beards had greater expertise and were significantly more trustworthy when they were endorsing products like cell phones and toothpaste.

But, oddly, men with beards were slightly less effective than smooth-cheeked fellows in underwear advertisements. Apparently we don't want Zach Galifianakis selling us boxers.

The researchers say the implications of their findings could extend far beyond advertisements. For instance, male politicians might want to consider not shaving because the "presence of a beard on the face of candidates could boost their charisma, reliability, and above all their expertise as perceived by voters, with positive effects on voting intention."

Former presidential candidates Al Gore and Bill Richardson didn't put down the razor until they were already out of the running. Who knows how things might have turned out if they had had the power of facial hair working for them …

Jesus had a beard. And facial hair is proudly sported by two of the four faces on Mount Rushmore.