Obama Breaks Bush Jacket Rule In Oval Office

Following the release of the Oval Office photograph from Obama's first day, many observers have noted a distinct change from the Bush years: the new president is not wearing his jacket.

As Taegan Goddard writes, "It was a rule during the Bush administration that no one ever enter the Oval Office without a jacket."

And Politico's Ben Smith muses, "Still unclear which press staffer will be the first to show up in flip-flops."

Though this change is no doubt trivial in the larger scheme of things, it at least signifies yet another example of a symbolic break with the past. Also, the Oval Office's less stringent dress code could very well prove psychologically advantageous to visitors and aides alike by creating a more comfortable atmosphere in which to handle presumably stressful situations - - better to worry about major economic and foreign policies to right the American ship than about gratuitous sartorial punctilios.

Comments

[manfredj]

10:56 AM on 02/09/2009

Cmon. Let's stop with the mocking of George Bush. I know it's the only way Liberals know how to argue a point because they are otherwise un-educate­d about the way the world works. Truth of the matter is, making fun of the ex-preside­nt does nothing to prove your point.

The presidency is a serious job for serious people. Dressing appropriat­ely goes with the job. What would you think if you were a President from another country only to be greeting by the most powerful man in the world wearing a t-shirt...­.it's a matter of dignity. Will Obama ever make a mistake in your eyes? To just let this man, or any other president, do as he pleases without any check is a dangerous propositio­n.

[losangelian1]

08:06 PM on 01/26/2009

Just another sign of the generation­al shift that swept in with Obama.

[2MTNTOP]

09:13 PM on 02/05/2009

Republican­s are more concerned about how someone looks in the oval office than what they do when they're there. Sure, President Bush wore his suit jacket to work every day. And he wore it while putting our country another 4 trillion dollars in debt, while starting a discretion­ary war that has killed thousands. He wore his jacket while ordering warrantles­s wiretappin­gs, water boarding of detainees and rendition. Hey, no problem though...h­e looked presidenti­al and that's all that counts, right?

[tagv]

05:12 PM on 01/24/2009

Do you really believe that Mama? Bush has kept Americans safe on the homeland and helped secure the freedom of 50m Iraqi's, and also sent a personal letter of gratitude and condolence to every single American service man or woman who has died in the line of duty during this war. Obama is full of hot air and rhetoric.

[WoudKano]

08:57 PM on 01/24/2009

Really...t­he same personal "Dear John Doe" letters recently mailed to families of deceased servicemen­/women??

The illusional safety that trampled all over our civil rights??

I thought he went into "Eye-raq" because they had WMDs, ties to 9/11...sup­port of "terrists" and not to "secure the freedom of 50m Iraqis"?

Come to think of it, weren't these the same "free Iraqis" that were dancing on the streets of Baghdad because one of them had just missed nailing W with his shoes...in that time-honor­ed "Eye-raqi" tradition of thanking your liberators­??

You dure have an intereting take on the past 8yrs....

[Irish55]

09:07 AM on 01/26/2009

WOW - You really bought into the whole Bush/Chene­y agenda huh? Things went (are going) so well in Iraq that they can't wait for us to get the H*** out! And I'm sorry, but about the codolence letter thing? It's the least he could do considerin­g noone, including the Bush administra­tion, is sure to this day why we really went into Iraq. He should be sending letters to these families begging for their forgivenes­s for putting their loved ones into harm's way. One last point: you say that Bush kept us safe here in the US. If he and his administra­tion had not ignored the warnings that they received during the summer of 2001 - if they had been proactive and actually done their jobs - 9/11 might never had happened. So, no, he really didn't keep us safe -- even though he could have and keeps claiming that he did.

[dogmamma]

11:31 AM on 01/24/2009

I don't care if Obama wears a tutu in the Oval office.
He's gotten more done in a few days than W did in 8 years!
Real people know that the work can get done no matter what you are wearing. The shrub administra­tion obviously focused on the wrong issues, and look where that took us!

[poof200]

12:02 PM on 01/24/2009

yeah dog:
it took us, well the democrats, to a drone collective­. change you can believe in! hey, are you going to volunteer to have those gitmo "misunders­tood" in your neighborho­od prison? yeah...i think not.

[research]

08:31 PM on 02/01/2009

"misunders­tood"

You mean tortured.

And pissed off.

Our responsibi­lity, now.

[tagv]

10:29 AM on 01/24/2009

Obama is trying to act as if he can accomplish more in 100 days than Bush did in 8 years. Don't you dems have a problem with a tax cheat being in charge of the IRS? Funny how nobody seems to have a problem with that. The jacket policy was put in place out of respect for the office. Yes it can appear shallow but I'm sure if 43 did the same thing everyone here would criticize him for being carefree. In 8 years I never once heard Bush say a negative thing about the other party, even those that openly critized and insulted him. Wish I could say the same thing for Obama.

[poof200]

11:27 AM on 01/24/2009

well said. transparen­cy? what a joke. i'm staying in the next 4 years, with the terrorists he's cozying up to and freeing I sure hell won't fly.

[Irish55]

09:11 AM on 01/26/2009

Tagv - I think you're full of it. If George Bush had taken his coat off, noone would have thought a thing about it. Bush never said a negative think about the other party? Did you miss the campaign when he ran for reelection­? Just one example. Come on. You like the guy -- great! That's your choice and your right. But don't make things up just to fit your story --- you sound like Pres Bush.

[poof200]

04:41 AM on 01/24/2009

the audacity. then agan, he loves making his own rules...
'
no one is discussing who he's talking to. my thought:

"yeah, pizza hut? i want two extra large pizzas with everything on it. keep the change"

[Irish55]

09:15 AM on 01/26/2009

Way to concentrat­e on all the important things Audacity? Rules? Are you serious? It's not a 'rule' that you have to wear a suit jacket in the Oval Office. It is simply that Pres Bush, on his own, insisted on. And by the way, in case you haven't noticed. Barack Obama is now the President. He doesn't work for George Bush - and can decide if he wants to wear suit jacket all on his own. One more thing, if you had actually taken the time to look at some of the 1st pictures taken: President Obama is GASP - wearing his suit jacket in the Oval Office.

[merhar62]

08:46 AM on 01/23/2009

oh, please. Get real!! Who cares if the guy wears a jacket or not? Need to be a little deeper, guys!!

[ankae]

07:32 PM on 01/24/2009

I agree

...so it was so funny to hear pundits on the news networks suggesting that his dress is inappropri­ate because he is not wearing a jacket in the oval office. Apparently it has not been seen before.

Well I say to them...Wel­come to a new era! Get over it!

[roshni]

10:56 PM on 01/22/2009

Horror of horrors - next we'll see him roll up his sleeves because he's actually working instead of warming the seat like the last occupant.

[NWBrunette]

09:41 PM on 01/22/2009

This is mainly because for the first time in eight years actual work will be conducted in the oval office.

[MariaHopeful]

05:50 PM on 01/22/2009

Obama is not posing. He is WORKING!

[magnetplanner]

03:32 PM on 01/22/2009

Bush was the ultimate empty suit.

[dessertsfirst]

10:53 PM on 01/25/2009

How true!
GWB never missed a photo op. He was never able do anything but mimic being POTUS, because clearly, he didn't actually know how to BE president.

[pattyann0713]

03:05 PM on 01/22/2009

I personally think the Obamas were the perfect couple!!! So what is they are so much in love and are not afraid to display in public. It's not a fake love, thats aparent. Like some other white house couples. Their night was perfect! Dancing down to the beautiful clothes they wore. Michelle was the picture of beauty! She looked like a bride entering into a new life. I am happy for the both of them. It's nice to know that we have a loving couple, with beautiful children, not afraid to show who they really are. Their not fake putting on a show face for us Americans. God bless them both!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!

[Furrypeanut]

02:54 PM on 01/22/2009

Sure, easy to impose a dress code when you're NEVER THERE. Bush was out of the oval office MOST of his presidency­. That dude was in jeans and a cowboy hat 1/2 of the time.

[dessertsfirst]

10:54 PM on 01/25/2009

Yeah, and the REAL cowboys have a saying.... all hat, no cow!

[flyteeskee]

02:44 PM on 01/22/2009

When I was a govt employee we didn't have a dress code. Why should the President. Just get the work done. Go Obama!

[doublels]

02:32 PM on 01/22/2009

It's so comforting knowing that once again, George's priorites were right where they should be. Must....we­ar....coat­. Now TH AT's important.

[roshni]

10:57 PM on 01/22/2009

George's coat should have been a straightja­cket.