No matter what you think about John Edwards' politics, there's no denying the man has some nice hair.

The Associated Press reported this week that the Democratic presidential candidate's campaign-spending disclosures include some high-dollar haircuts.

At least two were $400 cuts the former N.C. senator got from Joseph Torrenueva, a celebrity hairstylist in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The AP must have decided to check Edwards' hair-care spending after noticing he never looks like he needs, or recently had, a haircut. His is the kind my father calls "a haircut that doesn't look like a haircut."

Most men order that type of trim — the kind that doesn't expose tan lines on the back of the neck or above the ears — only when they're about to get married or attend a funeral.

Had John Edwards been in the public eye in 1970, my father might have aspired to have his 9-year-old son achieve the John Edwards look. But the closest thing we had to John Edwards back then was Glen Campbell.

After admiring his hair on TV's "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour," my dad got the idea that my bangs should be arranged in a similar fashion.

I remember sitting in the chair at Earl's Barbershop in Johnson City, Tenn., while dad borrowed a comb to demonstrate how he would like my hair to swoop right-to-left across my forehead.

"Sort of like Glen Campbell's," he said.

Earl, a tall Southern gentleman who peers over his glasses during instructions on how much hair to remove, nailed the cut.

I sported the Glen Campbell look until I was about 13, when my hair took a decidedly wavy turn.

Some people are saying it looks bad for John Edwards to buy $400 haircuts while running for president on an anti-poverty platform. I say he can spend as much as he wants to maintain his boyish good looks.

Edwards and Torrenueva are friends, according to the AP article, and Edwards likes to get his hair cut by his friend whenever possible.

I can relate to that. Earl Rice and I are friends, too. He began cutting my hair when I still needed the booster board laid across the seat. I still go back to Earl's whenever possible.

One reason Torrenueva charges Edwards so much is that he apparently goes to Edwards rather than having Edwards come into his Beverly Hills salon.

I doubt if Earl would agree to go to Edwards. But if Edwards ever finds himself campaigning in East Tennessee, and Torrenueva is too busy to leave his salon, Earl's Barbershop would make the perfect backdrop for a campaign stop and photo op.

The place has remained unchanged for nearly four decades. The walls display regional art and various mounted fish and pheasants.

On the Saturday before Easter, Earl gave me the standard tan-line budget cut, which should hold me until I visit my parents again Memorial Day weekend.

But the master barber can just as easily give Edwards a haircut that doesn't look like a haircut.

No appointment is needed, but Earl sometimes slips down to the Red Pig Bar-B-Q for a bite around lunchtime.

Not to worry, though. Earl's is a three-chair operation. Bill and Zeke, the other two barbers, are also certified in the Glen Campbell technique — still only $10 a pop.

That's a bargain on any political platform.

Mark Rutledge can be contacted at mrutledge@coxnc.com