I guess the coverage of the '04 presidential election is going to be about as high-minded and serious as the coverage in '00. This is from Denver's Rocky Mountain News:

Hair cuts into Kerry's support

Democratic senator needs to trim his long locks, some younger voters say

Is it John Kerry's Beatles-era haircut that doesn't appeal to students sporting today's shorter styles?

A waffle breakfast for the Massachusetts senator and Democratic president hopeful drew only about 10 people at the University of Colorado on Tuesday, even as several thousand rallied for political rival Howard Dean outside.

..."I'm not sure why people don't see the light," said Jason Meininger, who heads Kerry's CU effort.

...Photographs on the wall showed Kerry with hair combed neatly over his ears. One showed him with John Lennon.

"I think that's just him. He's had long hair for a long time. That's who he is, and that's what's so great about John Kerry - he's not afraid to be himself," said Meininger, who has short hair....

So, what's the reporter's sample set for the hypothesis that hair is what's holding Kerry back? One kid who actually did respond to Kerry's breakfast invitation and who doesn't really seem to care much about his hair, plus a Dean campaign worker:

"He does need a haircut," said Eric Morgan, a graduate student in history who was eating a waffle. "I think if he trimmed it back, it would be nice."

Michele Buckley, a leader of the campus Democrats and an organizer of the Dean rally, said the former Vermont governor's short haircut helps on campus.

Good Lord -- people actually get paid to write stuff like this.