Politics -- No Longer 'Showbiz for Ugly Folks'

Oct. 20, 2006 — -- It's long been said that politics is show business for ugly people, but the current crop of politicians is anything but.

Take Scott Kleeb of Nebraska, for example, and John Gard of Wisconsin. Both are handsome, rugged and running for Congress.

Or Michele Bachman of Minnesota and Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona -- pretty, glamorous and also hoping to win a seat on Capitol Hill.

"It's probably no accident that in our increasingly TV-savvy political culture, candidates are getting better looking, better dressed," said Kellyanne Conway, a GOP campaign consultant.

Sixteen years ago, George Washington University political science professor Lee Siegelman studied the effect of looks on elections. He wondered why, despite advantages in voter registration, Democrats kept losing.It turned out that the Republicans were fielding better looking candidates than the Democrats. So nowadays, candidates know to get their eyebrows waxed, their nails done, their hair styled -- and that's just the men.

Political consultants clearly factor in looks when recruiting candidates, and they advise candidates to tweak their appearance along the way.

When Democrat Diane Farrell ran for Congress two years ago, she wore her hair up in a bun. It was easier to manage.

Since then, a campaign adviser has suggested that for this year's run, she might want to consider wearing it down.

But experts caution that looking good is a double-edged sword. It can sometimes work against a candidate -- you don't want to appear too pretty or too youthful.

The 2004 vice presidential debate between John Edwards and Dick Cheney is an oft-cited example.

"If you turn the sound off, it was almost like an adult was debating against a teenager," Siegelman said.

Elections are still far from "Hot or Not" contests, but in a tight race any little edge might help, whether it's command of the issues or a winning smile.