"The best reason I can think of for not running for President of the United States is that you have to shave twice a day"
About this Quote
Stevenson’s line lands because it treats the presidency - the grandest job in American civic religion - as a grooming problem. It’s not just a joke; it’s a refusal to perform the pious awe expected of anyone orbiting power. By shrinking the office down to “shave twice a day,” he punctures the myth that the presidency is a destiny for the best among us. The punchline is banal on purpose: the daily indignities, routines, and bodily maintenance become a stand-in for the relentless, unglamorous grind of modern political life.
The intent reads as strategic modesty with a blade of cynicism. Stevenson, the eloquent Democrat who twice lost to Eisenhower, was often cast as the “thinking man’s” candidate - admired more than embraced. In that context, humor becomes armor. He sidesteps ambition without denying competence, signaling, I’m not hungry for this, which paradoxically makes him sound more trustworthy in a culture suspicious of naked yearning for power. It’s also a quiet critique of the presidency as a machine that consumes privacy and selfhood: even your face becomes a schedule.
The subtext hints at the 1950s’ rise of television politics, where appearance hardened into policy-adjacent reality. Shaving is stagecraft. If you have to do it twice a day, the office isn’t merely about decisions; it’s about being constantly camera-ready, constantly managed, constantly “on.” Stevenson makes that sound ridiculous because, in a way, it is.
The intent reads as strategic modesty with a blade of cynicism. Stevenson, the eloquent Democrat who twice lost to Eisenhower, was often cast as the “thinking man’s” candidate - admired more than embraced. In that context, humor becomes armor. He sidesteps ambition without denying competence, signaling, I’m not hungry for this, which paradoxically makes him sound more trustworthy in a culture suspicious of naked yearning for power. It’s also a quiet critique of the presidency as a machine that consumes privacy and selfhood: even your face becomes a schedule.
The subtext hints at the 1950s’ rise of television politics, where appearance hardened into policy-adjacent reality. Shaving is stagecraft. If you have to do it twice a day, the office isn’t merely about decisions; it’s about being constantly camera-ready, constantly managed, constantly “on.” Stevenson makes that sound ridiculous because, in a way, it is.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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