The beauty of George H.W. Bush's shaved head

(Image credit: Twitter)

last updated 8 January 2015

George H.W. Bush is sporting a new look. The 89-year-old former president shaved his head this week.

No, he wasn't trying to project a hip, young image. Bush decided to go bald to show solidarity for a 2-year-old boy named Patrick who lost his hair as he underwent treatment for leukemia.

Patrick is the son of a member of Bush's Secret Service detail. Bush noticed this week that the members of his security team had all suddenly shaved their heads, and he asked why. When they told him that they were showing support for Patrick, Bush called for the clippers, too.

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A Bush spokesman, Jim McGrath, posted a photo of Bush and Patrick on Twitter:

And here's one of the entire security detail in Kennebunkport, Maine:

Patrick's family and friends were thrilled. "Our little guy received some high-powered support this week when President George Bush 41 volunteered to shave his head to show his support for Patrick and Patrick’s Pals," reads a statement on the Patrick's Pals website.

Understandably, the internet is bursting with praise for the 41st president. David Jackson of USA Today called the snapshots the "photos of the year."

Julie Evans Ryan at The Stir agreed. "I don't care what your political point of view is, you can't help but love former President George H.W. Bush for this," she says.

While it won't cure Patrick, it's one of those small gestures that surely means a huge amount to the boy's family. Often when we learn people are dealing with something like this, we don't know what to do to show our support and sometimes find ourselves doing nothing. But for families suffering, knowing they have support and that people are thinking of them is often what they need most. [The Stir]

Praise came in from all sides. The White House tweeted its support, as did another former president, Bill Clinton:

This is certainly a cause Bush and his wife, Barbara, understand. They lost their daughter Robin to leukemia at age 4 in 1953.

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.