בכל אופן, הדבר זוכה להתייחסות בניתוח הפוליטיקה ומדיניות החוץ של ארה"ב על פי שערות הפנים של מנהיגים שונים:

So let's not be afraid to admit the obvious: Over these last 10 decades, when we believed we've been fighting militarism, despotism, fascism, communism and militant Islamism, what we've really been fighting is whiskerism.

"Fu Manchu, Ming the Merciless, Snidely Whiplash, the Iron Sheik — all the bad guys have facial hair," Mr. Greenfield said.

THERE is no end to the insights to be gained by using this new framework for understanding history. Consider how much more strongly Franklin D. Roosevelt supported Britain once the clean-shaven Winston Churchill supplanted the mustachioed Neville Chamberlain. Look at how difficult administrations of both parties found it to deal with the mustachioed Charles de Gaulle.

Think about how strongly the United States has always backed Israel, with whom we share not only religious and political traditions, but also a strong preference for facially hairless political leaders (those few stray springs on Golda Meir's lip notwithstanding) over the more hirsute Nassers, Husseins and Assads. Clearly all the Palestinians would have to do to change the balance in the Middle East is get a Gillette Mach 3 Turbo and some Foamy.