Losing a presidential bid looks a lot like getting dumped

2. Growing a beard

Al Gore wisely went clean-shaven while campaigning in 2000—the U.S. hasn’t elected a bearded president for over a century. (Some suspect it’s because our nation’s greatest enemies all sport facial hair, so it’s a look we associate with scoundrels.) But after a few hanging chads put a stake in his heart, Gore went full Rumspringa: He ran off on a six-week Euro trip and grew a beard.