When Barack Obama unveiled a newly shorn Bill Richardson as his Commerce Secretary pick on Wednesday, Obama praised the man but pointedly criticized his grooming decisions.

“We’re deeply disappointed with the loss of the beard,” the president-elect said.

“I think it was a mistake for him to get rid of it. I thought that whole Western, rugged look was really working for him.” Obama said of the New Mexico governor.

Richardson grew the beard when he dropped out of the presidential race in March, recalling another Democrat who ditched his razor when he fell short of the presidency — 2000 candidate Al Gore.

The facial fuzz also had the added benefit of hiding the corpulent governor’s double chin.

“For some reason, maybe because it was scratchy when he kissed his wife, he was forced to get rid of it,” Obama said.

Richardson was not given a chance to explain his decision.

Was this an example of Obama showing mastery over his nascent “team of rivals,” which includes former rivals Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton?

Perhaps he was simply worried about the lack of facial-hair diversity in his future administration.

While Obama has taken pains to appoint women and blacks to senior positions, only the mustachioed Attorney General pick Eric Holder breaks the ranks of the clean-shaven.

Photo by REUTERS/John Gress (Richardson with Obama at Chicago news conference).