Candidate caught in eyeglass scandal

Quite a few people comment on the fact that I wear glasses, yet the picture on my postcard has no glasses.  A couple have worried that I took the glasses off for reasons of vanity.

Not so.  I’ve worn glasses most of my life and they are so much a part of me that they’re the first thing I reach out for in the morning, the last thing I put down at night.  I learned as a little girl that glasses were a part of me, and I’ve never cultivated a look without them.

The reason for the picture without glasses is actually pretty utilitarian.  We needed pictures fast and we wanted them outside.  To avoid the time lag of professional photography services, my campaign manager Mary Ann took me and her fancy camera out to Withrow Park, where my transition lenses reacted to the glorious sunlight and turned black, completely obscuring my eyes.  So the pragmatic choice was between not showing my glasses and not showing my eyes, and we decided eyes were more important.

I’ve since taken the professional shots that Charlie posted.  They show two different pairs of glasses.  Those will be my new glasses.  (I have to replace a prescription that’s 7 years old, my current lenses are scratched and my frame has been bent during hugs with my hyperactive and enthusiastic son.)

Only one of the new pairs will have transition lenses, so I’ll have an option that stays clear outdoors.  That will be a cheat of a different kind – because that’s the pair that I’ll rarely use outdoors except when I’m giving public speaches at a distance from the people I’m talking to.  I need the transition lenses for the hours of door-knocking in the bright sun.  So that photo will be deceptive too.  But honestly, vanity has nothing at all to do with it.