# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/161 "2009-02-06T22:04:58Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Complete hijack: does that seem odd to anyone else? Both the New Latin part and the ‘to’ part. I’m not sure ‘ad’ is really used in that sense in this phrase. (Note , **SA** , that I’m not criticizing you in the least here. It just seems, well, a little odd.) “To the man”, rather than “to the issue” (_ad rem_). Why is that weird? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/162 "2009-02-06T22:19:52Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > “To the man”, rather than “to the issue” (_ad rem_). Why is that weird? I suppose that makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![dotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotter)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/163 "2009-02-06T22:24:47Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > We’re not talking about the space in the White House where Obama lives – we’re talking about the Executive Office of The United States’ government. > > Reagan & Bush had sufficient respect for the Oval Office that they wouldn’t enter it sans coat and tie. I will not get in an argument over this and just let the pictures speak for it [Bush Jacketless In Oval Office: Photo Uncovered After Bush Chief Of Staff Slams Obama's Informal Appearance (SLIDESHOW) | HuffPost Life](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/05/bush-jacketless-in-oval-o_n_164513.html) ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/164 "2009-02-06T22:53:38Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > And so this! THIS! is the hard-handed son of the proletariat, toiling on the docks of Madrid, slugging coarse red wine from leather _pinatas_ and smoking hand-rolled _frijoles_! Close but it was actually while laboring for endless hours in the catacombs of Bloomingdale’s men’s suits department that I had the chance to display some of the knowledge that my Dad\*, the Francoist clotheshorse, had imparted on me. You are right on one account though, I still roll my own. \*Made **SA** look like a reasonable centrist. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/165 "2009-02-06T22:58:53Z")
> [@dotter](#): > > I will not get in an argument over this and just let the pictures speak for it [Bush Jacketless In Oval Office: Photo Uncovered After Bush Chief Of Staff Slams Obama's Informal Appearance (SLIDESHOW) | HuffPost Life](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/05/bush-jacketless-in-oval-o_n_164513.html) You missed the part where he admitted that. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/166 "2009-02-06T23:05:23Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Locking someone out is childish. There’s a far simpler way. If you’ve got a meeting with twelve people, supply \*eleven \*donuts. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/167 "2009-02-06T23:10:01Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > [My greatest masterpiece.](http://i40.tinypic.com/2uojosi.jpg) You’re welcome. I just scared the cat laughing so hard. You are my hero. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/168 "2009-02-06T23:59:44Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > A black person suited up severely can look overly formal, like they’re trying too hard, or look like a waiter, or look threatening. This is a pretty fucked up opinion to pass off as a universal truth, **Scylla**. Anyone who thinks a black guy in a suit is threatening is the same kind of person who calls blacks folks “uppity” when they use proper subject-verb agreement. And “trying too hard”…really? Gee, maybe they’re “trying too hard” because they don’t want to mistaken for a threatening thug for _not_ wearing a suit. I’m starting to notice a pattern here. I’m tired of white men mistakening their attitudes for the rest of humanity’s. And it’s ridiculous when they don’t even care how small-dicked they sound while doing it. A black man in a suit is only threatening to someone who is majorly insecure with his masculine prowess…which is not something I’d think anyone would want to advertise. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/169 "2009-02-07T00:10:31Z")
I think you’re missing the real core of the malfunction here, **you.** It would be more like “trying too hard” _not_ to be threatening. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/170 "2009-02-07T00:11:03Z")
So, um, yeah. When I posted “Well put, **Scylla** ” I hadn’t actually read most of his post. What I took from it and what I responded to is that different styles fit different people. I didn’t actually read the details. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/171 "2009-02-07T00:18:17Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I think you’re missing the real core of the malfunction here, **you.** It would be more like “trying too hard” _not_ to be threatening. That interpretation is too charitable because two beats later he declared that a black guy in a suit can look threatenening. Is he saying they are trying so hard to not look threatening that they end up looking threatening? That’s asinine. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/172 "2009-02-07T00:19:13Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Still, I prefer otherwise, and the fact of the matter is that when people dress nicely, they behave better. (And in general get treated better. Try it sometime: walk around in a suit and tie and see if people don’t smile at you more, hold doors for you more, defer to you and treat you more respectfully, etc. It’s a more civilized way to live, and it engenders civility in return.) I have no issue with Obama’s dress code in the WH. But I do have to agree with **Starving Artist** , here. I started wearing my suit on airplanes, so I wouldn’t have to deal with trying to pack it. It seemed like it came through in better shape if I wore it, even if I had a good garment bag. Anyway, I noticed immediately that the treatment I received wearing a suit was far more respectful and deferential than it was when I dressed casual. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/173 "2009-02-07T00:22:08Z")
Well, yes, one is always more careful dealing with someone who is clearly certifiable. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/174 "2009-02-07T00:25:25Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Locking someone out is childish. You shouldn’t have to “send a message” to your cabinet. The absolute default assumption is that everyone there is a total professional who would only ever be late if it was absolutely unavoidable. If someone is competent enough to be on your cabinet, they should be competent enough to know when they should hurry the Prime Minister of Whereever off the phone to make the meeting on time, and when they should take the time to complete the conversation. If there actually is a problem with an individual being late, they should be addressed, not locked out. Or better yet, just dust off the old rule that [those who are tardy will not get fruit cup](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5luzq_high-anxiety_fun). And \*enforce \*that shit! Seriously, if I were a _janitor_ in the Bush administration I think I would just shut the fuck up about decorum in the Oval Office. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/175 "2009-02-07T00:34:44Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Anyway, I noticed immediately that the treatment I received wearing a suit was far more respectful and deferential than it was when I dressed casual. I’m sure that’s true. But if the President has to play the R-E-S-P-E-C-T game with his own Cabinet in his own office, I have to wonder why he can’t command their respect without the suit. ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/176 "2009-02-07T00:43:00Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Anyway, I noticed immediately that the treatment I received wearing a suit was far more respectful and deferential than it was when I dressed casual. Well, you’re making a first impression on a stranger, and your style of dress is one of very few things they have to go on. It makes up a larger part of the opinion they are forming about you. Everyone already knows who Obama is, what his job is, and what kind of influence he has. Most people have formed an opinion of him already, thus his style of dress would have less effect on that opinion, should one happen to meet the President. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/177 "2009-02-07T01:36:59Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Complete hijack: does that seem odd to anyone else? Both the New Latin part and the ‘to’ part. I’m not sure ‘ad’ is really used in that sense in this phrase. (Note , **SA** , that I’m not criticizing you in the least here. It just seems, well, a little odd.) No problem at all. I lifted it verbatim from Merriam-Webster’s online site. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/178 "2009-02-07T01:43:21Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > …you’re seriously claiming that the SECRETARY OF DEFENSE had nothing to say at that meeting. You’re clearly batshit insane. That and let’s not forget-according to the article-the meeting started EARLY. And Powell wasn’t informed of the fact. Talk about lack of respect. I remember the Freepers going on and on about the way Obama wore his ball cap backwards during his workout was a sign that he wasn’t fit to be president. Because it looked too “gangsta.” Gah. As I’ve said, the next thing you know, we’re going to hear about how Obama hangs the toilet paper up the wrong way. Jesus wept. Oh, and shouldn’t that be: _breath_ I find your lack of a tie _disturbing_. _breath_ (chokes underling) ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/179 "2009-02-07T01:43:54Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Seriously though, has anyone noticed that in almost all meetings of government leaders, everyone is wearing nice suits? There is a reason for that. Suits lend an air of professionalism and gravitas, and make them appear to be people who should be taken seriously. I like being the one to break this to you. Not any more. Suit and tie lends an air of stodginess, inefficiency, and cluelessness. We don’t take suits seriously anymore. They are faintly ridiculous, in fact. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642/180 "2009-02-07T01:45:54Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Anyway, I noticed immediately that the treatment I received wearing a suit was far more respectful and deferential than it was when I dressed casual. Probably because they were afraid you were an asshole. -FrL- [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-has-to-dress-down-hes-busy-cleaning-up-your-puke/484642.md?page=10)