After reading Matt Drudge’s story about the cost of Senator John Kerry’s haircuts, I began to wonder about the spending habits of the man Kerry wants to run against in 2004, George W. Bush. Not surprisingly, Bush has announced that he gets his hair trimmed at (relatively) earthbound prices. Unlike Bush, of course, Kerry has truly terrific hair -- you can understand that he might want to treat it well. What does Bush possess that he might want to treat the same way?

Cowboy boots, perhaps?

(UPDATE: Sorry -- what follows is a misreading of the article; it was actually Bush's father who was the boot buyer. To some extent, of course, the point still stands.)

I did some Web searches and found a 1999 Las Vegas Review-Journal story in which Bush was reported (scroll down) to have once purchased boots from Loveless, a bootmaker based in Oklahoma City.

I wondered what those Loveless boots could have cost Bush. A few clicks brought me to this price list at lovelessboots.com.

The cheapest boots listed are $550 -- for that price, you can get them in Mulehide, Waterbuffalo, African Wildebeast, Frenchcalf, Camel, or Spanish Bullhide. Armadillo boots are $850; Anteater boots are $1,300. For $3,550, you can get boots made of African Hornback Crocodile (tops and bottoms).

I guess there’s been some inflation in the years since Bush bought his Loveless boots, but even so, it’s hard to see how economical a Loveless purchase could have been.

Coincidentally, I’ve been thinking about replacing some boots of my own -- hiking boots. The boots I’m looking at cost a lot less than Loveless boots. The prices I’m looking at range from $39.99 to $165.

Yes, Bush is a Texan who owns a ranch. However, in his real job he works at a desk -- just like me.

Do you think anyone makes hiking boots in African Hornback Crocodile?