Tuesday, June 10, 2008

TO THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, FREEPERS = "FASHIONISTAS"

David Saltonstall in today's Daily News:

Barack Obama ditched the campaign trail for the bike trail last weekend, offering onlookers a rare peek into the Democratic nominee's casual-wear closet.

It wasn't a pretty picture: ill-fitting jeans, a tucked-in golf shirt, black-and-white socks and a helmet that could make Michael Dukakis blush.

"Please tell me he isn't wearing dark socks," commented one of many Internet fashionistas who weighed in on Obama's recent ride along Lake Michigan with his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters, Sasha, 7, and Malia, 9....


What Saltonstall doesn't tell you is that the "fashionista" in question is "1rudeboy," posting comment #6 in a Free Republic thread two days ago.

"Barry is politically correct, wearing a nice helmet," noted another, tongue firmly in cheek....

Er, that would be "tips up," posting comment #27 in the same wingnut thread.

And in fact, the real fashionistas quoted by Saltonstall are much more forgiving:

"I like seeing my politicians in goofy weekend attire," said Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys New York. "It means they're thinking about more important stuff."

Tim Gunn, the stylish host of Bravo's "Project Runway," was equally forgiving, arguing that compared with the baggy getups that most guys call clothes on the weekend, Obama was a picture of casual refinement.

"I am grateful that he is not wearing sweats. I am grateful that he is wearing athletic shoes and not Crocs, and I am grateful he is wearing a collar," Gunn told the Daily News. "For a weekend out with the kids, I think he looks great. I give him a B-plus."


Here's the horrific outfit, which -- seriously -- is compared by Saltonstall to Dukakis in the tank:



Come on -- is it really so appalling? He's just a middle-aged dad, and that's what he looks like.

Besides, if he actually looked like stylish on a bike, Maureen Dowd would never stop yammering about it, would she?

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