Thursday, December 29, 2011

Appearances

Saw the president on television on his Hawaiian vacation. He was walking along with his family wearing jeans and tee shirt. Yup, jeans and a tee shirt ! A real presidential appearance. So this is what the office of President of the United States has come to. He's cool. Well, I don't like it. No sir, I don't like it one bit. You could say I'm a bit of a traditionalist. I don't think the President of the United States should be seen in  public dressed like a common person. By virtue of the office he has been elected to, he is no longer a common man.
I know,I know this isn't the first time. I have seen him playing basketball before. At least he was wearing slacks that time. I have grown somewhat accustomed to seeing our politicians with their shirt sleeves rolled up like they are working hard. Their image people tell them to do that. They are almost always at least wearing nice slacks and a button down shirt. All this informality just doesn't sit well with me.
I have touched upon this subject in one form or another in past blogs. The story Clothes make the Man comes to mind as applicable in this scenario. A while ago pictures of the Russian president riding a horse without his shirt on were shown on the evening news. Much ado was made about this. It was considered inappropriate by most of the main stream media. No negative comments were made about Mr. Obama.
Yes I have seen photos of John Kennedy on his yacht and in his compound in Massachusetts. The difference there was it was not a public setting. I can't recall seeing him, or any other President, in a public setting being dressed in such  informal attire. Somehow, in my mind at least, it cheapens the office.
I can relate this feeling to the same one I have about children calling their parents by their first name. To this day if I turned to my mother and said," Hey Ruth " I could expect a tongue lashing. I'm 58 and she is 82. It is a form of respect. The president being dressed in a more formal fashion is a sign of respect to the office. After all ,he is not a longshoreman ! He is supposed to be the leader of the free world. The manner of dress he chooses to wear in a more private setting is not an issue with me. None of my business. I believe in saying yes sir or yes Ma'am. I like to think I have enough common sense to dress in a appropriate fashion for the occasion. I wouldn't want to go to church and see the Priest in cutoffs and a tee shirt either !
Is this issue of any particular importance ? No. Does it have any effect on the way he handles the office of President of the United States ? No. Plenty of folks see no problem with this at all. The thing is this, I'm the one writing this blog and I don't like it. Not one little bit !

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