Cindy McCain Wears Clown Suit/Pantsuit To Debate

Has Cindy McCain been playing in Hillary's pantsuit depot again? For the first of her husband's debates against Barack Obama, Cindy "the human tomato" McCain decided to outfit herself in a pantsuit that looked more like a four-year-old's romper than the attire of a professional woman.

Instead of the usual touch of color worn underneath the traditional pantsuit to break up the monochromatic palette, the McCain onesie zipped all the way to the neck, leaving no flesh or other garment exposed.

The ode to Marie Antoinette ruffling on her lapel, which was all over the catwalks for Fall 2008, made her look like a giant red polyester gift basket and recalled the clown suits with frilly necklines made popular by men with red noses and names like Bozo. All the outfit was missing was polka dots and some size 25 shoes.

Cindy has long been a fan of bright solid color dressing, but it's usually in the form of a June Cleaver-esque dress or a skirt suit allowing her to show some ankle and remind us that there is a human being under there.

She got the pantsuit right when she appeared on Jay Leno. Sure it was head-to-toe neon yellow, but she paired the well-tailored suit with a lower neckline and a bright blue necklace which kept her from looking like a canary poised to take flight. In the red leisure suit she graced us with in Mississippi, we almost forgot that Mrs. McCain is in possession of a neck and hands.

In a nod to Nancy Reagan, McCain is often a crimson tide personified. Red is seldom wrong for political women. It combines patriotism and power and pops on camera. But the shade of red of her polyester sack had me thinking that Halloween came a little early this year. The orange-red hue is one that should be reserved for crayons, harvest festivals and vegetables. It should not be worn on one of the most important days of your husband's career.

Of all the women in Washington, for whom pantsuits have become de rigueur (see my earlier post "The Great Pantsuit Problem (And What To Do About It)", almost the Mao suit of Capitol Hill, Cindy McCain is not the biggest offender. Though she often looks as if she belongs in a 1950's Sears catalog, she knows how to play and dress the part of the docile Republican wife in demure knee-grazing dresses that recall the days when men were men and women were accessories. She can even teeter away from her safety zone at times wearing leather jackets, turtlenecks and tweeds. And more often than not, these adventures in dressing work for her and remind us that she is not an Eisenhower-era paper doll.

This was not one of those times. Was Cindy scheduled to perform at a child's birthday party after the debate? Was the suit so ill-fitting because she was hiding something under there? A few pies to throw in the faces of Hockey Mamas for Obama? An emergency cheat sheet for her husband? Who knows. One thing is for certain. There's a blind stylist out there who should soon be joining the ranks of the unemployed.

Comments

[NoLongerRepublican]

What do you expect from a woman who wants to be like Princess Diana? (Princess Diana had more class and better taste in clothes.) She actively sought out a board position on the anti-land mine organization that Diana supported after Diana died. So McCain will do anything to attract attention.

What nobody comments on, and what bothers me more than her cheezy, flashy clothes, is her hair. It appears to be so overbleached that it has no life, no body, and no shine. Most of the time it looks greasy and dirty. You'd think a woman who spends so much money on clothes could get a decent hairstylist, or a good wig.

[RosanneofTennessee]

Never have a seen a more self-absorbed woman than Cindy McCain. Does she think about anything other than what she's going to wear next. Christians are not supposed to be so focused on the external.

[leira07]

i dislike cindy mccain with a passion but i thought she looked okay in this - her skin tone and hair lets her wear brighter colours without looking tacky - and not everyone can pull off such a bright tomato red.. but i do agree she should have broken it up with a shirt or something underneath, and lose the ostentatious pins

[larissa2000]

how do you know it's polyester?? presumptuous, on your part.

[Roanoke3]

Who is that wearing a sofa?

[Roanoke3]

Clown outfit? But who is that woman wearing a sofa?

[KinC]

I personally think Cindy McCain is a fashion gaffe-machine, to put it in political terms. She has some very nice things, but every once in a while she dons a real disaster. The gold dress she wore at the Republican Convention was shockingly bad. It was visually hideous. She looked like she was attending the Oscars (or trying to look like an Oscar?), not a political convention. It was inappropriately opulent given the fact that the convention had just resumed after being postponed for a hurricane catastrophe. This was magnified as she strolled on the stage next to Laura Bush, who was wearing an incredibly tasteful white suit. Last, but not least, it was comical. The first thing that popped into my head was Dot Matrix in Spaceballs (the female spoof of C-3PO, voiced by Joan Rivers). Simply put, Cindy looked tacky.

[Angelic11]

I like her pants suit.

[lucite]

Check out McCain's smirking face when the four of them were shaking hands. What a Bush expession. McSame.....

[LMT]

BRUTAL! But I am laughing my a$$ off! Thanks for this great commentary!

[luciadulu]

More noticeable than the red suit in that photo... the Obamas holding hands. Spontaneous affection between a husband and wife, not faked or stiff. What a nice change!

[Cakey4814]

And did you see the kiss..not the cheeky thing either. They just ooze affection between each other. Also, just as Barack had to walk tover to McCain to shake his hand and even said "good job" at the end of the debate MIchelle did the same thing to Cindy. All the money in the world can't buy class and it was very telling at this debate.

[SunnyDay]

You may not like John McCain but really...Cindy McCain always dresses very stylishly and she looked as pretty as always in her red suit.

[proudem]

I have been saying this since the convention...with so many folks in dire straights, Cindy needs to remove the 2 diamond brooches that she sports. It is overstated and ostentatious and doesn't play well with the little people (read commoners).
The First Lady has an image that she must maintain and Jackie O set the bar for classic chic. I agree that there should be a McCain stylist that is looking for employment but they can only suggest. Ultimately the final decision rests with the client.
Just sayin

[StValentine]

listen, I despise McCain like no other , betond words - but let's leave the potential 1st ladies out of this, especially on such nonsensical topics - who cares?!?! Now Palin, that's another story.......

[KinC]

This is posted under the "style" section. Fair game. And besides that, it's funny.

[Susej]

Are those real pearls (on the picture with Jay Leno)
They are the size of large red grapes!!!
I know she can afford them if they were real. But are they?
I know some outrageously rich women who wear fake jewelry because no one suspects otherwise.