Marco Rubio: Esquire’s hair loss claim is true

The advice? Odds are he'll mullet. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio—one of his party's rising stars and a potential presidential candidate in 2016—took to Twitter on Wednesday to tackle head-on (all in jest) an Esquire Magazine style item that pressed him to do more to conceal his hair loss.

"‪#Esquire report on having less hair than I once did is sadly true. But good news is I am still in upper 2% in Senate," Rubio said. (The Tweet is probably in the running for most-retweeted comment of the day by a politician. Democratic Sen. John Kerry—no slouch in the coiffure department—was among those apparently tickled enough to share it.

Rubio was responding to this post in the men's magazine: "Hey, Marco Rubio: It's Time for a New Haircut."

"Marco Rubio's doing an alright job positioning himself as the man the GOP needs to halt their receding support, but before he gets too far along there, we suggest he take some time to better manage his own thinning hair," the piece said.

The Tampa Bay Times mocked the item, but underlined one potentially overlooked political dimension.

"Rubio's older brother is bald, which may be on the senator's mind as he eyes 2016 with the understanding that he can't wait much longer. No bald candidate since Ike has made it to the White House."