Back in the days of election fever, senior Obama strategist David Axelrod promised he was so confident the President would win in Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania he bet his moustache on it. The bet quickly became its own meme. History, of course, tells us the Axelrod was right...and if he was true to his word the moustache would have to go. So in a wonderful kind of codicil to Movember [3], Axelrod's beloved, 40-year-old whiskers were whisked away this morning on Joe Scarborough's MSNBC show, "Morning Joe." The deed was done for charity--in support of the Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy. And it happened only after the hashtag #slashthestache [4] gained its own viral runaway success on Twitter, and Axelrod said the 'stache would go only if the campaign raised enough money. Social funding site Crowdrise [5] helped with that bit--to the tune of over $1 million.

#morningjoe [6] we all mourn the loss of the Axel-Stache! But it will highlight David Axelrod's excellent cheek bone structure. #slashthestache [7]

— Adrienne Annice (@LadyA08) December 7, 2012 [8]

@tomhanks [9] you're truly a STAR! thanks so much for the $10k. @davidaxelrod [10] ready to #slashthestache [7]? bit.ly/U9zBLO [11] #cure [12]

— CURE Epilepsy (@cureepilepsy) December 4, 2012 [13]

With the cash raised, Axelrod appeared on "Morning Joe" today--and the 'stache was slashed.

The stash is slashed twitter.com/Morning_Joe/st… [14]

— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) December 7, 2012 [15]

This all provides yet more proof that crowdfunding and social networking can impact the world in positive ways, and that the hashtag--as we've long [16] suspected [17]--is an incredibly vital tool.