Obama Greying Before Our Eyes

By Paddy


Any surprise?

The realization almost always prompts a double take, a moment of inspection, maybe even a debate: Is baby-faced Barack Obama, the symbol of a younger political generation, actually aging in front of us?

By his own admission this week, “the gray is coming quick,” so that it now dusts his head like snowflakes. The laugh lines cut a little deeper, and the crow's-feet around his eyes appear slightly more pronounced.

(snip)

“By the time I’m sworn in, I will look the part,” Obama acknowledged to donors Wednesday in Colorado Springs, Colo., one month before his 47th birthday.

He confirmed what has been whispered for months among political insiders and raised in reader e-mails to journalists who cover him closely: Similar to President Bush and former President Bill Clinton, who came into office with far less gray hair and wrinkles than when they prepared to exit, Obama is already developing the presidential patina, a weathered look that builds after months of sleepless nights and stress.