# Obama has to dress down, he's busy cleaning up your puke! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 5, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642 "2009-02-05T23:51:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/1 "2009-02-05T23:51:51Z")
Andrew Card has the [gall](http://www.insideedition.com/news.aspx?storyId=2584) to say of Obama’s dress code: “The Oval Office symbolizes…the Constitution, the hopes and dreams, and I’m going to say democracy. And when you have a dress code in the Supreme Court and a dress code on the floor of the Senate, floor of the House, I think it’s appropriate to have an expectation that there will be a dress code that respects the office of the President.” Card continued, “I don’t criticize Obama for his appearance, I do expect him to send the message that people who are going to be in the Oval Office should treat the office with the respect that it has earned over history.” The asswipe you worked for, the one that stunk up the place for 8 years, found it impossible to actually respect and honor the the history, the office and the Constitution in any way whatsoever…except by dressing up. So I guess that’s why you think it’s all that matters. Go away. You make me want to vomit. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/2 "2009-02-06T00:05:55Z")
So that’s all Card has got? “My guy dressed better than your guy”? This is beyond pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/3 "2009-02-06T00:10:59Z")
I personally love the fact that Obama dresses down so much. I avoid wearing a suit or tie whenever I can and I think a lot of of other Americans can connect with that, too. Makes him a more personable guy. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/4 "2009-02-06T00:12:11Z")
Is he showing up in shorts and flip-flops? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/5 "2009-02-06T00:12:56Z")
Obama looks better in a suit than Card’s guy did, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![hekk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@hekk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hekk)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/6 "2009-02-06T00:17:38Z")
During the Super Bowl, there was a Matt Lauer interview with President Obama. The first thing that I noticed was that the President was not wearing a jacket OR tie. It was slightly jarring. Not enough to spew hate and vitriol, but it kind of caught me off guard. While not even _close_ to the flabbergastinly ridiculous “flag pin” thing popular with neo-cons last year, I gotta say that there is a grain of this complaint from Andrew Card that I agree with. I understand the populist notions that might cause Obama to roll up his sleeves and kick back like the working man, but he isn’t the “working man”. He’s a man in a very prestigious position and, old fashioned as it may be, needs to project himself as such. But maybe we’ll get used to it. Did people have conniptions when JFK stopped wearing hats in public? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/7 "2009-02-06T00:24:54Z")
Seems a bit silly to get all gussied up for a nukular attack. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/8 "2009-02-06T00:27:34Z")
People who wear shirts and ties throughout the day – Rush Limbaugh audiences, Jehovah Witnesses and Mormon missionaries, and unemployed people looking for McJobs. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/9 "2009-02-06T00:30:39Z")
Does _anyone_ wear a suit jacket all day at the office? I’d think that if your going to sit there all day, it be kinda uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/10 "2009-02-06T00:31:53Z")
Maybe Bush kept it a bit cooler [than is comfortable](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/us/politics/29whitehouse.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all)for Obama. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/11 "2009-02-06T00:33:45Z")
> [@hekk](#): > > While not even _close_ to the flabbergastinly ridiculous “flag pin” thing popular with neo-cons last year, I gotta say that there is a grain of this complaint from Andrew Card that I agree with. > > I understand the populist notions that might cause Obama to roll up his sleeves and kick back like the working man, but he isn’t the “working man”. He’s a man in a very prestigious position and, old fashioned as it may be, needs to project himself as such. I’ll go out on a limb and risk being labeled as a flaming liberal wackjob and suggest that I can’t get behind Card’s complaint at all. Quite frankly, I don’t give a shit if Obama strolls into the Oval Office wearing his boxers and a Snuggie; he’s going to do the same job either way. I care more about what comes out of the Oval Office than what’s in it. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/12 "2009-02-06T00:35:00Z")
The only way you can wear a suit jacket all day long is if you aren’t actually working. Card is obviously unacquainted with what a person who gets things done looks and dresses. Lazy layabouts who cruise along doing absolutely nothing all day don’t work up a sweat–of course it looks weird to Bushies! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Batman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@The\_Batman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Batman)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/13 "2009-02-06T00:36:48Z")
I actually like Obama even more now that I know he doesn’t wear a suit all the time, it makes him seem less uptight than I imagined him as. ---
**Author:** ![hekk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@hekk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hekk)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/14 "2009-02-06T00:42:36Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Does _anyone_ wear a suit jacket all day at the office? I’d think that if your going to sit there all day, it be kinda uncomfortable. No, but when they have to make a presentation to the boss and his boss, they’ll probably put it on for awhile. I’m not saying that the guy should have to wear a pressed, impeccably tailored suit with silk tie around the office. He could work out of his underwear, like **atomicbadgerrace** suggests, and that would be wonderful! Whatever makes the man more efficient and productive. But when the situation calls for it (meeting foreign leaders, or speaking to millions over television) I think that he should make a point to dress for the occasion. It’s the same way that one should dress respectfully for a funeral or job interview. Also, I DNRTFA, so I don’t know if Andrew Card is bitching about his dress in public or in the office. If he is referring to his everyday dress, then he is a douchebag for saying so. The man is the boss in the White House. But, if he is referring to his dress on national tv, I happen to agree. Like I said, it’s no big deal. Just an observation and opinion. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/15 "2009-02-06T01:11:55Z")
Now I want Obama walking into the Oval in a thong and flip flops. And gangsta shades. Fuck you, Andy, 'kay? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/16 "2009-02-06T01:16:23Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Card continued, “I don’t criticize Obama for his appearance, I do expect him to send the message that people who are going to be in the Oval Office should treat the office with the respect that it has earned over history”. Whenever Bush opened his mouth, he made the Administration look incoherent. That’s changed. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/17 "2009-02-06T01:21:48Z")
If Bush required coat and tie in the Oval Office, it sure as fuck wasn’t out of “respect for the office”. I’m guessing it was more “because I can.” ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/18 "2009-02-06T01:27:16Z")
I’d rather have a real wonk who showed up in his jogging gear (WJC) than an all-about-appearances _putz_ who insisted on everyone dressing up (GWB). W thought he was in a pageant, Clinton tried to do the work. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/19 "2009-02-06T01:29:38Z")
Considering the crap Obama and the United States has to dig out of, I think he and all of us better start wearing canvas. Obama will need work boots in the oval office before things turn around. Dress for the occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/20 "2009-02-06T01:31:27Z")
The Oval Office symbolizes the Constitution? Huh? Suddenly Cheney’s cutting corners with the Constitution makes sense… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642.md?page=2)