Categories: Local

New York State’s New Governor, David Paterson – He’s Black, Blind, and He Has a Beard

So our new governor, David Paterson, is black and blind. If we didn’t know that a month ago, we know it now because the media has corrected our ignorance over and over again during the past two weeks. Paterson is the first black governor of New York State and the first blind governor of any state. But Governor Paterson has a third B besides black and blind, one that hardly anyone has mentioned but is as obvious as the hair on his face–he has a beard. Now that may not be of interest to most people, but it is to me because it is one of the few things I have in common with Paterson.

We have not had a governor with a beard since Charles Evans Hughes served as the state’s number one man from 1907-1910. Hughes went on to become United States Secretary of State and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He also was the last presidential candidate to wear a beard, losing to Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Mustachioed Teddy Roosevelt, also a former New York State governor, campaigned without enthusiasm for Hughes, calling him “Wilson with whiskers.”
adparams.getadspec(‘c_billboard1’);

Hamilton Fish (1849-1850) was the first New York State governor to wear a beard, however, he wore it Amish style, without a mustache. Reuben Fenton (1865-1868) wore his the same way, as did Lucius Robinson (1877-1879). Sundry other governors had mustaches, mutton chops and other varieties of facial hair, the most outrageous being that of Levi P. Morton (1895-1896). Words alone cannot describe Morton’s facial hair; you will have to google him to see what I mean.

Paterson and Hughes are the only two New York State governors to sport both beards and mustaches. More importantly, however, Paterson is only one of two sitting governors in the United States who have beards, the other being John (Johnny the Beard) Corzine of New Jersey. Corzine’s image consultants advised him to shave his off, but he refused to part with what had been part of him for twenty-five years.

Current political wisdom is that politicians shouldn’t wear beards. Around three dozen congressmen have facial hair of some sort, while no Senators do, and we haven’t had a president with a beard since the 19th Century when Chester A. Arthur was president or one with a mustache since William Howard Taft left office in 1913. Image advisors argue that if you wear a beard, people think you are trying to hide something, which seems like a silly argument. It’s the guys that shave everyday who are trying to hide something. They are trying to hide the fact that they have hair on their face. And our last governor and current president have made it plain that beardless politicians often have something to hide.

Dislike of politicians with hirsute faces has not always been the norm. In her now famous letter of October 15, 1860 to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, eleven year old Grace Bedell of Westfield, New York wrote, “I have got 4 brother’s and part of them will vote for you any way and if you let your whiskers grow I will try and get the rest of them to vote for you you would look a great deal better for your face is so thin. All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husband’s to vote for you and then you would be President.”

Lincoln’s famous reply was “As to the whiskers, having never worn any, do you not think people would call it a piece of silly affection if I were to begin it now?” But he took Grace’s advice and by the time he left Springfield, Illinois for the White House in February 1861 he had a beard.

Governor Paterson can’t change the fact that he is black and legally blind. Unfortunately, he can shave his beard off. I read one comment by someone on the internet who said the first thing Paterson should do as governor is shave off his beard. I hope he doesn’t do that. And I hope he doesn’t listen to any advice from any little girls who might write him a letter telling him he would look better without a beard.

There has been a lot of debate this election season as to whether or not America is ready for a female president or a black president. I think we are. But are we ready for a bearded president? By keeping his beard, and proving himself a capable governor, maybe David Paterson can make way for other members of a much maligned minority-brothers of the brush-to hold high office.