NO BEARDS HERE....

NO BEARDS HERE. Andrew Sullivan points readers to The Museum of Beards and asks: "How have I lived this long without knowing about this?" Sounds like the kind of thing Ben Romney, one of Mitt's five sons, might be interested in, too. Today on the Romney campaign family blog, Five Brothers, he writes:

Many of you have asked what happened to the beard, so I will appease the masses. Quite simply, it was itchy. And hot. And dirty. And it shed. So, when the summer came abruptly to Boston, I decided that the winter beard's time had come to an end. I waited to show it off at a friend's wedding, then it was gone, much to the dismay of my wife. Yes, it's true, she actually liked it, and was sad to see it go. I think that she would agree, though, that I look better without it. In response to Jeff Fuller, who says I look 5 years younger and 15 lbs lighter without it: that was the point of having the beard. But I'll gladly take your compliment anyway.

It's a surprisingly fun blog for a presidential campaign. They keep the tone light and the topics personal but not particularly revelatory, and overall it fulfills its mission of showing Mitt as a family man quite well.

--Garance Franke-Ruta