SD's Last Whiskered Congressman Chides Nelson for 'Stache Dash

The whisker quote of the week comes from former South Dakota Congressman Clint Roberts, in an interview (on his 75th birthday! congrats, Mr. Roberts!) with Seth Tupper on the role of facial hair in politics:

Had Nelson or Curd opted to keep their facial accessories, they would have needed to look only as far back as 1983 for a role model. That was the last year South Dakota had a mustache in Congress, and it belonged to Clint Roberts, a Presho native who lost his seat to Tom Daschle when the state’s representation in the U.S. House was cut from two seats to one.

...Roberts said he, too, was urged to shave off his mustache when he entered politics. He refused, and he thinks other male politicians should do the same. When told of Nelson’s capitulation to razor-wielding advisers, Roberts offered this wisecrack: “Next if they want him to cut his right foot off, is he?” [Seth Tupper, "To Shave or Not to Shave: That's the Question Facing Mustachioed Politicans," Mitchell Daily Republic, 2010.01.30]

I'm with Roberts: growing that mustache back mid-campaign would boost Nelson in my book. Of course, I'm now sporting four months' worth of winter warmth around my muzzle.

Roberts shares no comment on Curd, but Tupper does:

...in the current U.S. House race, Nelson’s opponent, state Rep. Blake Curd, shaved off a goatee before the campaign. Curd’s decision seemed to draw less attention, perhaps because people were distracted by the gleam of his fully shaven dome [Tupper, 2010.01.30].

Whoa! Who says blogs have the monopoly on snark?