Clothes Encounters of the Turd Kind

Executive Summary: Arlen Specter, Claire McCaskill et al - lose the suits. Dress for distress.

Pulitzer Prize-winning Wash Post fashion priestess Robin Givhan on the "appropriate" garb "for those public occasions when good citizens decide to behave like raving lunatics and turn lawmakers into punching bags. What does one wear to a town hall meeting on health care when the sole reason for attending is to shout down one's congressman like a peevish teenager in the midst of a hormonal rage?... " If not for the prohibition on signs and banners inside these meetings, one could well expect to see some of these volatile worker bees wearing face paint and foam fingers, albeit the highlighted digit would be one expressing foul displeasure rather than competitive rank or skill level."

That sentiment is underscored in photo after photo. The common man, in his T-shirt and jeans, is shouting passionately at "the suit." In the videos from these meetings, audio is unnecessary. It's clear who's in charge and who is shouting into the wind.

The assemblies have the look of a lone bean-counter and a throng of unhappy workers. Visually, there's nothing to indicate we-are-all-in-this-together. It's an odd juxtaposition, given that during campaigns, politicians are quick to roll up their sleeves or slip into a Carhartt jacket when making a sales pitch to the working masses. The point of the clothing change is to indicate empathy and solidarity. Instead, for these town halls, the legislators have been going out in full Washington regalia. (President Obama has been photographed dressed more casually in the Oval Office than he was for his recent question-and-answer session with the regular Joes of New Hampshire.)

Washington's power brokers have suited up to underscore their authority and the seriousness of the subject matter. And bully for them. But their attire also says: I am the boss of you. All those howling citizens -- in their T-shirts and ball caps and baggy shorts -- are saying: No, you're not.
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