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President Obama Flaunts His Natural Gray

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

If anyone earns gray hair, it's the president of the United States - the international situation, the situation with Congress, teenage daughters. This week, President Obama talked about the advance of gray on his crown before an audience of students in Kuala Lumpur. A Cambodian student asked Mr. Obama for life advice, quote, "since you yourself are aging to a very senior life."

The first thing I want from young people is to stop calling me old, the president replied. When I came into office, I had no gray hair, and now I have a lot. I don't dye my hair, and a lot of my fellow leaders do. I won't say who, but their barbers know, their hairdressers.

So let's guess. Vladimir Putin? Maybe all his bare-chested photos are to distract attention from his thinning hair. Angela Merkel? She seems beyond such vanity. Justin Trudeau is new to the club. He might welcome a touch of silver. In any case, the student who asked that question may not be bound for a career in diplomacy. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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