Hirsute Precedents for Gore’s Grooming Choice

In his column on Al Gore’s new beard (Commentary, Aug. 8), John Balzar states that “it’s been a century since we’ve had a bearded president (Rutherford Hayes, 1903).” Balzar is wrong about both the last bearded president and Hayes’ dates in office. Hayes’ last day in office was March 4, 1881. Although Hayes did have a beard, there were two bearded presidents after him, James A. Garfield and Benjamin Harrison. Harrison, the last bearded president, left office on March 4, 1893. So, actually, it has been well over a century since we’ve had a bearded president.

Any takers on who was the last president with a mustache? It was William Howard Taft; his last day in office was March 4, 1913.

William J. Fickling

Los Angeles

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Perhaps, in his column about Gore, Balzar is evoking Hayes for another reason. Hayes was the last president to outright steal an election when, in 1876, his party supporters conspired to rob Sam Tilden of the White House, disputing the electoral votes of Florida and other states. How odd it seems now that the 1876 race would be relevant today, but as that election and our last one show, theft is a stain that even history cannot completely scrub clean.

Bill Orton

Seal Beach

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avid Crosby expressed it best in the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young classic song “Almost Cut My Hair.” It is not the action itself (growing long hair or a beard), it is the values behind the action. No one has ever been able to actually discern the values behind Gore, long hair or short, beard or not, thus the confusion.

John Diaz

Santa Monica