A face for the White House

With the recent decision by the US Treasury to make their dollar coins a little more presidential, it should stand to reason that those who have held the position may be brought under a bit more scrutiny. It should also stand to reason that, if you're going to analyze past presidents, you really should start at the beginning, and work your way onwards from there.

When thinking of George Washington, what are some of the words that come to mind? Determined? Strong will to govern? Sparkling eyes and firm cheeks?

Wait, what?

That's right. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Arizona Statue University joined forces, and merged sciences, to produce new images of our first president, at various stages in his life. According to their research, Washington as a young man was far more attractive than the man we think of when we picture our money. While it's probably safe to bet that George was no "Lady Killer" Kennedy or William "Smooth" Clinton, it's also safe to assume that he was far above the league of "Marshmallow Belly" Taft, "Craggy" Nixon, or James "Acne-pocked" Polk.

The new images of George Washington can be found at Mount Vernon, and we can already predict some of the potential responses. Obviously, voters will point out that Washington set the precedent that allowed charisma to carry the day over ability to govern, as has been shown time and time again, from Millard Fillmore to the Nixon/Kennedy debates, all the way to Ahnold's position as governor of California. There will also be those who, in their own way, will make a point of letting the world know that, if Washington were alive today, they would "totally hit that".

At least, that's what we assume Paris Hilton would say.