John Kerry and John Edwards: 'We've got better hair'. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
You can probably call it payback for Fahrenheit 911. Shots of the Bush administration preening and being preened before television appearances were a low hit, and even if you would never think about licking a comb and running it through your hair, does that mean that Paul Wolfowitz should be stopped from making himself look the best he can? But the only hair in this race is vice presidential candidate John Edwards', a thick and bouncy mane that gives him a more boyish look than most men in their 50s. It has even become an election issue, of sorts. George Bush told one rally he did not pick the balding Dick Cheney as his running mate because he had "the waviest hair in the race, I didn't pick him for his hairdo". John Kerry told another he and Mr Edwards were going to win in November because "we've got better hair".
And so, here's the revenge.
A video, via Slate, of Mr Edwards fixing his hair, tending it with hands and a brush, and checking the results in the mirror of a powder compact. The pro-Bush Little Green Footballs, clearly pleased, comments that "the silky pony cares for his mane way too much." There are clearly issues of machismo at work here, as there are in many areas of the race.
The footage, culled from satellite feeds by artist Harry Shearer, is part of a body of work, Face Time that aims to catch important figures off-guard. Mr Cheney may not spend so long on his hair but, as one clip shows, he seldom unclasps his hands. The vice president is known to admirers as a calm and authoritative presence in the White House. He either strives to live up to his reputation every moment of the day - or is a little wary after what Michael Moore did to his colleagues.
