I had no idea Hawkeye needed your help dressing.
I had originally typed “Nattily Dressed CS Mod,” but I hate it when people call me Natalie.
Then he is unfit to be President of the United States, should duty call, and should resign his post forthwith.
What a loser. Someone else said it best.
“he looked like an angry 8 year old dragged to church by his mother”
Jesus, I hate Cheney as much as the next card carrying liberal, but this is certainly not something even I would pick on him for. It’s fucking cold, so he dressed warmly.
Then again, I’m pretty bias, considering I don’t believe that the amount of respect you display is directly proportionate to the clothes you wear. When I went to church, I went in t-shirts and jeans (or whatever I was planning to wear later in the day anyway); when I die, I will haunt anyone who deems it necessary to wear a suit and tie. YMMV.
Both of my grandfathers got to be quite elderly gentlemen with heart conditions in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Both of them managed to attend funerals and public occasions without looking like they interupted playing with their snowmobile. Furthermore, the office of Vice President is largely responsible for going to events of this sort. If he is no longer willing or able to so in a manor that suggests he respects the occasions he is being asked to attend; I would like to suggest he step down.
I can’t say that this makes me respect him any less, however. Wait. Yes it does. I would have liked to believe that even though I disagree with him on every front, that he had more manners than your average 13 year old, who is still trying to learn about when it is appropriate to wear certain clothes.
I am also willing to bet that in the days he was in charge of companies in the public sector he didn’t hire the people who came to interviews dressed for comfort. He knows what should be worn for a public occasion. He has met all of these people. He knows what they were likely to wear. Hell I haven’t met any of them and don’t hang in those circles but I could have guessed what they would wear.
Thanks. At first I tried just searching Google Images for “Auschwitz,” but didn’t want to look through a lot of unpleasant results.
I think you identified the crux of the matter, Harriet. Private citizens can make their choices about external symbols of respect. Cheney didn’t attend the memorial as a private citizen; he represented the U.S. government and people. His very presence was a symbol, so quibbling about outward signs of respect don’t wash.
It wasn’t a deliberate gaffe but it’s a telling one, IMO. Cheney, and indeed this whole administration, seem weirdly, stupidly oblivious to anything outside their narrow perceptions. Obviously Cheney cared enough to dress appropriately for his own inaugural; he quite obviously didn’t care enough to do as much for the Holocaust memorial. Washington D.C. isn’t the center of the world. It was unprofessional not to bother, and that was not only tacky, it was stupid. It’s stupid to give offense carelessly.
Shit, he should either do it well or pass along the responsiblity. Buy a set of full-body long undies and a long cashmere coat. His indifferent performance wasn’t earth-shattering but he just gave more fodder to critics who think this administration don’t work effectively at international statecraft.
Flat-footed, arrogant and stupid.
I really like Robin Givhan’s original article in the Post. I don’t resemble a fashion maven and remember thinking how silly to put a fashion column in a daily newspaper, but I invariably find her writing articulate, intelligent, and understandable to a schmoe like me.
Pity that no one surrounding the VP ever paid attention to her.
See the guy behind him? He looks like he’s thinking “what the fuck is a lumberjack doing here??”
I personally think it’s a funny picture. These crazy crazy world leaders! The hat is the perfect topper too!
I’m going to go look again.
Pity that people will find the time to raise a fuss over Cheney’s choice of wardrobe when there are much more important issues facing our society.
I don’t think it’s so much a fuss over Cheney’s wardrobe choice as his lack of judgment, caphis. State Department rookies are given crash courses in local customs and protocols. It isn’t unreasonable to expect a serving Vice President to comport himself as appropriately at official foreign events as he does national ones.
I agree, it’s not a huge deal–or shouldn’t be. I’m not so much criticizing Cheney as wondering what the hell he was thinking to make such a stupid slip. Why the hell hand critics fodder when it could have been avoided so easily?
This is a singularly stupid comment. Since when does commenting on Cheney’s clothing preclude commenting on other, more serious matters? It isn’t a binary choice, you know.
It’s a minor gaffe at best, but Cheney’s tacky clothing only shows the measure of the man. This will blow over, and be forgotten; what’s really sad is that so many GOPers don’t see the problem. Then again, given the attitudes of the current administration and its supporters, it’s not surprising that they have contempt for the victims of the Holocaust. Cheney’s on the side of the torturers, not their victims.
My point was that time and effort of news agencies could be better spent focusing on REAL issues.
And MY comment was singularly stupid? :rolleyes: Where’s your proof that this administation “has contempt for the victims of the Holocaust” or that he’s on the side of the torturers? Because Cheney dressed warmly?
Again, I dislike Cheney more than most people, but this is not something to get worked up over.
I think BushII and his cohorts are frighteningly inept but that’s going way too far IMO, gobear. It’s equally wrong to project a bit of unprofessional carelessness to sympathy with death camps. In this particular incident I think the worst that can be assumed is a degree of indifference to history.
Their unlovely use of torture as a tool and assault on legal protections open them up to the comparison but it’s still way overblown.
Veb
That we don’t pick our candidates based on fashion? What sort of shit is that? You guys are showing your favoring of style over substance with this thread.
Sure, Cheney was showing he simple didn’t care enough to dress properly and it is a minor matter, which I’ve already said. I’m just saying that Cheney (and Brutus and Martin Hyde) are contemptuous of the Holocaust and indifferent to the symbolism of the occasion, because they have more in common with the torturers than the tortured.
Sure, Cheney was showing he simple didn’t care enough to dress properly and it is a minor matter, which I’ve already said. I’m just saying that Cheney (and Brutus and Martin Hyde) are contemptuous of the Holocaust and indifferent to the symbolism of the occasion, because they are supporters of torture and are cavalier to the sufferings that we are inflicting on the Iraqis.
Hehehe, tell me, gobear, how does it feel to be so incredibly batshit insane? Do you even realize it? Are you self-conscious of the looks you get when you are mumbling to yourself as you stagger down the street, or do you not even notice that anymore?