All of the Ponds anti-aging cream and hair plugs in the world can’t fix the worn faces of these men.
Being president of the United States is perhaps the greatest honor and greatest curse a person can obtain. The level of stress required in dealing with war, economic distress, and suffocating media scrutiny would crush any ordinary citizen. Each of our 44 American presidents has mastered the ability to hide his emotions and exude an air of calm.
What nearly each of them hasn’t been able to do is prevent the stress from wreaking havoc on their faces.
President Bill Clinton’s hair went from black to stark white, Jimmy Carter’s crow’s feet turned into pterodactyl claws, and Abraham Lincoln’s cheekbones were sharpened into razors.
The next time you find yourself freaking out over a new mole or wrinkle, just take a look at what years of running the world’s most powerful country did to the mugs of these guys.
President Abraham Lincoln
Some sources of stress:
– Slavery
– The Civil War, which claimed the lives of about 700,000
– Reconstructing the war-ravaged South
President John F. Kennedy
Some sources of stress:
– Keeping all those alleged extramarital affairs in order
– Vietnam War
– Cuban Missile Crisis
President Gerald Ford
Some sources of stress:
– Pardon of disgraced President Richard Nixon
– Two assassination attempts
– The Vietnam War
President Jimmy Carter
Some sources of stress:
– For 444 days, 52 American diplomats were held hostage by Iranians in the U.S embassy in Tehran.
– High unemployment and inflation
– U.S. energy crisis
President Ronald Reagan
Some sources of stress:
– A $160 billion bailout for more than 700 savings and loans institutions
– Ongoing drama related to the Iran-Contra affair
– March 30, 1981, assassination attempt
President George H. W. Bush
Some sources of stress:
– $220 billion deficit
– Iran-Contra Affair: Clemency granted to politicians who sold weapons to Iran
– Secretary of the Treasury Catalina Villalpando took an abrupt leave of absence before ultimately being sentenced to prison for tax evasion and obstruction of justice.
President Bill Clinton
Some sources of stress:
– Whitewater
– Crisis in the Balkans
– The Monica Lewinsky scandal
– Impeachment
President George W. Bush
Some sources of stress:
– Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon
– Subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
– Adviser Karl Rove investigated for “improper political influence”
– Release of Oliver Stone’s W, a film based on the life and presidency of Bush
President Barack Obama
Some sources of stress:
– The fight over the Affordable Care Act
– Trying to explain the laundry list of NSA spying programs
– Ongoing war in Afghanistan
– The deaths of veterans while waiting for care at Veterans Affairs hospitals
– A Republican-controlled Congress
Photo via Imgur, Wikipedia, Time Inc., Reddit | GIFs by Fernando Alfonso III | Main photo via Wikipedia, White House/Flickr (PD, and Matt H Wade/Wikipedia | Remix by Jason Reed
