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You are here: Home / MSM Finds Weakness in Ryan… his Tailor

MSM Finds Weakness in Ryan… his Tailor

by Bernard Finel|  August 15, 201210:34 am| 104 Comments

This post is in: Our Failed Media Experiment

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Seriously, kill me now. From the MFing Washington Post:

But Ryan (Wis.) appeared rumpled, slightly sloppy for a vice-presidential candidate. As if he’d flown in hours before and mistakenly picked up someone else’s suitcase. His pants sagged at his ankles. His starched, white shirt bunched at his stomach. His dark jacket drooped, better suited for a man of the cloth than a man on a presidential ticket.

Ryan, a high-ranking House Republican, known as a stickler for numbers and a devotee of hard-core workouts, seemed oddly unconcerned about the clothes he wore during the most important announcement of his political career. How could a fitness buff with 6 to 8 percent body fat wear a suit that looked two sizes too big?

“Paul Ryan looked like what he is: a rumpled, think-tank policy wonk sort of guy,” said Christine K. Jahnke, president of Positive Communications, a Washington-based media and image-consultant company (her hundreds of clients have included The Washington Post). “I don’t think that will change as the campaign goes on. If he clicks it up too much, both he and Romney will have the distant CEO-Wall Street look.”

Perhaps his raw, slightly unkempt suit balances out Romney’s snazzier, controlled appearance. Ryan’s Midwestern sensibilities and baggy pants may appeal to swing voters who think cuff links are wasteful expenditures. The man believes in trimming budgets, not pant legs.

A few points:

Ryan is not stickler for numbers. He’s a fraud, whose budget does not add up in even the most elementary fashion.

Ryan is not a wonky, intellectual too busy with big ideas to worry about fashion. He’s an ideological hack whose lips are permanently set to pucker in case a rich ass happens to walk by.

Ryan is not running for personal trainer-in-chief. He’s running for Vice President of the United States on a philosophy of screwing 99% of the country in order to provide more tax cuts to the wealthy. I think that little factoid is more important than his body fat percentage.

The fact that his suit looked like shit is really beside the point, no?

 

UPDATE: A number of comments note this piece appeared in the Style section, so who cares? Which is true as far as it goes, except that the piece uses his suit as a way to spin Ryan into an appealing, folksy character who is just too focused on budget details to visit a tailor. He’s not appealing. He’s not folksy. And his expertise on the budget is fraudulent.

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Previous Post: « Half a million voters denied access to the ballot can of course swing an election towards Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan
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Reader Interactions

104Comments

  1. 1.

    jurassicpork

    August 15, 2012 at 10:36 am

    Shit. Thankfully, it doesn’t always happen.

  2. 2.

    Hill Dweller

    August 15, 2012 at 10:37 am

    The bar is so low for Republicans. Ryan is a complete fraud, but his ability to string two sentences together makes him a wonk.

  3. 3.

    SenyorDave

    August 15, 2012 at 10:37 am

    It should of appeared on a hanger, sans candidate, since he really is an empty suit.

  4. 4.

    schrodinger's cat

    August 15, 2012 at 10:38 am

    The fact that his suit looked like shit is really beside the point, no?

    Actually how you choose to dress says a lot about you. Wearing rumpled, ill fitting clothes for a very important event says that you don’t care. In this Ryan is showing his disdain for voters.

    ETA: You are right in pointing out that this is not a story worth spending ink over when there are far more important issues to cover. MSM sucks.

  5. 5.

    Punchy

    August 15, 2012 at 10:39 am

    How could a fitness buff with 6 to 8 percent body fat wear a suit that looked two sizes too big?

    Why exactly does his body fat percentage matter in this article? Is the MM that fucking lazy that they literally have nothing else new to fill their words quota?

    This writing makes Ranger Rick articles look scholarly.

  6. 6.

    Mark S.

    August 15, 2012 at 10:41 am

    Ryan’s Midwestern sensibilities and baggy pants may appeal to swing voters who think cuff links are wasteful expenditures.

    How vapid can one sentence be?

  7. 7.

    Linda Featheringill

    August 15, 2012 at 10:41 am

    OF COURSE the contents of the man’s character is more important than his appearance.

    But in politics, looks count.

    He almost looks careless and sloppy. If he were applying for a job in industry or something, he wouldn’t be considered for a higher level position because of the poor fit of his clothes. Campaigns are not much different in this regard. If he wants to be elected dogcatcher, he looks fine. If he wants to be elected to next-in-line as president of the United States, he needs to upgrade his wardrobe.

    No, I don’t particularly like that fact but reality frequently doesn’t ask me what I like.

  8. 8.

    Ben Franklin

    August 15, 2012 at 10:45 am

    A critique? Their snobbery is redolent of Mitt. I’m surprised they didn’t proclaim his cheap suits represent his fiscal conservatism.

  9. 9.

    Steve

    August 15, 2012 at 10:45 am

    Year after year, election after election, people act shocked and surprised that the Style section of the Washington Post writes about how people dress. Guess what: they also have a sports section, and it writes about football, not budget policy!

  10. 10.

    schrodinger's cat

    August 15, 2012 at 10:45 am

    @Mark S.: It is so stupid, makes it seem like everyone who does not live on either coast dresses like a shlump. How presumptuous. I have seen plenty of sloppy dressers in the north-east especially in the winter, when all you care about is being warm, looking good is only a distant second.

  11. 11.

    Violet

    August 15, 2012 at 10:45 am

    The fact that his suit looked like shit is really beside the point, no?

    No, it’s not. It makes him look sloppy, not ready for prime time. If that’s his first impression, people will already be thinking that when they look at his policies. “This Ryan guy looks like a kid wearing his dad’s clothes. Now I see his policies aren’t up to snuff either. He’s just not ready.”

    I don’t mind if his appearance is the first step down that path.

  12. 12.

    Adam C

    August 15, 2012 at 10:45 am

    Also: Ryan is not some small-towner with “Midwestern sensibilities”. He’s a career politician from a wealthy and privileged family.

  13. 13.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice Since 1937

    August 15, 2012 at 10:45 am

    I am breathlessly anticipating the switch the earth tones and sweaters.

  14. 14.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    August 15, 2012 at 10:45 am

    In some of my darkest fantasies I like to line up some of those “journalists” and have members of the Los Zetas behind them like they show in those gore porn videos, then…I’ll stop right there.

  15. 15.

    Alex S.

    August 15, 2012 at 10:46 am

    I only cared for that dress story becuase it implied that the whole VP announcement was scheduled on the fly. I also think that Ryan borrowed Romneys jacket. They probably had to speed it up because the announcement had leaked. Anything beyond that is cringeworthy.

  16. 16.

    anibundel

    August 15, 2012 at 10:46 am

    As a fashion nerd, Ryan’s inability to wear a tailored suit BUGS.
    HARD.
    (It also worries me that ill-fitting suits might come into fashion. I think I might meltdown in sheer horror if that happened.)

    But I’m a fashion nerd who writes about frivolous things. This is supposedly why I do not write for the Washington Post.

    Apparently I should rethink this?

  17. 17.

    The Bearded Blogger

    August 15, 2012 at 10:47 am

    It must really suck to work at the MSM these days, being expected to do anything BUT your job…

  18. 18.

    Zifnab

    August 15, 2012 at 10:47 am

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Wearing rumpled, ill fitting clothes for a very important event says that you don’t care. In this Ryan is showing his disdain for voters.

    See, I think its a sign of inexperience and a total lack of exposure to real work place environments or competition. No one that’s ever had to hustle for a big job interview or a promotion would dress like Ryan dresses. Ryan doesn’t think he is being judged. He doesn’t consider it his job to land the job. He’s not putting forward any serious effort to appeal to his future employers because he’s never had to put forward effort like this before.

    Beyond that, I think focus on outfit rather than policy is really just the media’s desire to say something negative without saying anything controversial. They aren’t really touching on policy, so you can’t accuse WaPo of taking sides in any debate. But they aren’t purely pro-Ryan, so the fluff piece can’t be accused of being a one-sided propaganda puff piece. It is maximally inoffensive offering to its starved-for-details readership.

  19. 19.

    taylormattd

    August 15, 2012 at 10:48 am

    Ryan’s Midwestern sensibilities and baggy pants may appeal to swing voters who think cuff links are wasteful expenditures.

    OMFG.

  20. 20.

    Dork

    August 15, 2012 at 10:48 am

    Shorter: To agree with my f#cked up stereotype of Midwestern voters, Ryan needs to don overalls, a long piece of straw in his mouth, and use a ton of “Howdy, m’ladys” in all his convos.

  21. 21.

    The Bearded Blogger

    August 15, 2012 at 10:48 am

    @Adam C: No.

  22. 22.

    Corbin Dallas Multipass

    August 15, 2012 at 10:49 am

    I guess I am weird because I see the word Style on the top of that article and knew it wouldn’t talk about politics further down the page but probably about how people look?

    Do you want to abolish all style articles about politicians? Should those style articles always cover the hard hitting political points first? I’m confused.

  23. 23.

    Soonergrunt

    August 15, 2012 at 10:49 am

    To prove your point “Ryan is not stickler for numbers. He’s a fraud, whose budget does not add up in even the most elementary fashion.”
    FOX FREAKING NEWS points out that the Ryan “budget” will not decrease the deficit that he claims to care so much about.
    When you’ve lost Roger Ailes…

  24. 24.

    amk

    August 15, 2012 at 10:49 am

    Pfft. It’s the ‘style section’ of wapo. Why give a shit about what some vapid moron sez ?

  25. 25.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 15, 2012 at 10:50 am

    You know, the problem here is that actually doing something to find a basis in fact for Ryan’s rep as a “policy wonk” and a “numbers crucher” requires doing some work, and forcing yourself not to allow your eyes to glaze over.

    Not just exchanging gossip in Sally Quinn’s salon over chafing dish of cocktail weenies.

    So it’s pretty much beyond the skillset of any Hiatt hire at the WaPo.

  26. 26.

    Hill Dweller

    August 15, 2012 at 10:50 am

    ThinkProgress has video of Chuck Todd, of all people, smacking down the Iowa Governor when he tried to lie about Obama’s welfare waivers.

    I’m still trying to recover from the shock.

  27. 27.

    mechwarrior online

    August 15, 2012 at 10:51 am

    I blame this on Washington DC’s unhealthy fretting that it’s “stars” aren’t as attractive as those in New York or LA. As such anytime someone is remotely fit and not totally bald by age 35 the press goes bonkers. It’s as if they are trying to will into being an impression that politicians, and by proxy those around them, are indeed attractive.

    Which is crap, they really aren’t. The last Star Quality politician was JFK, there weren’t any prior, and there haven’t been any after. But that won’t stop the press for trying to make it so.

    Fun stuff indeed, almost as funny as the “fashion shows” they tout in Georgetown and “hottest women on the hill” nonsense that creeps all over the place. None of that hides the fact that Washington is for ugly people or at best goofy looking nerds.

  28. 28.

    Ash Can

    August 15, 2012 at 10:51 am

    Of course it’s beside the point. But in a world — well, OK, a nation — where elections are won and lost literally on the basis of stupid, petty memes such as “I’d like to have a beer with him,” “He looked goofy in that tank commercial,” and “He sighs too much,” this can make for a surprisingly (if obviously inordinately) powerful slam on Ryan. “Do you think he looks tired?” indeed.

    ETA @ Steve #9: Yep, that too.

  29. 29.

    Violet

    August 15, 2012 at 10:53 am

    @Ash Can: Exactly. A guy who dresses in his dad’s too-big jackets must not be ready to be Vice President.

  30. 30.

    hells littlest angel

    August 15, 2012 at 10:54 am

    This story has important implications. It suggests that Romney/Ryan may lose the gay vote.

  31. 31.

    David Hunt

    August 15, 2012 at 10:54 am

    Steve is correct that the article appeared in the Style section of the paper and it’s their job to write about things like that. Writing about how frumpy Ryan looks/doesn’t look isn’t the sin here. The sin is that the press corpse isn’t writing about how he’s a zombie-eyed granny-starver who wants to utterly destroy Social Security and Medicare and kick out all the oldsters into the street to starve/freeze , and thus, is entirely unsuited to any form of elected office and a cancer on the body politic. Unfortunately, there’s a reason that they’re called the Washington Press Corpse.

  32. 32.

    schrodinger's cat

    August 15, 2012 at 10:55 am

    Forget the suit, I think its the haircut that makes him look ridiculous. Plus he has creepy eyes.

  33. 33.

    Ash Can

    August 15, 2012 at 10:56 am

    @Soonergrunt: OK, now I’m starting to think that Murdoch and Ailes are trying to pave the way for a convention uprising. This may be the first GOP convention I’ve actually watched since I was in grade school.

  34. 34.

    Corbin Dallas Multipass

    August 15, 2012 at 10:59 am

    @Steve: Thank you.

    Think these two posts are also relevant:

    https://balloon-juice.com/2012/08/14/ha-id-like-to-meet-his-tailor/

    https://balloon-juice.com/2012/08/14/im-not-sure-how-much-of-this-i-can-take/

  35. 35.

    MattF

    August 15, 2012 at 10:59 am

    I suppose the point is that if you’re not going to cover policy, or politics, or the statements that the candidates make, or any facts at all that an actual voter might want to know, you’re pretty much left with percent body fat.

  36. 36.

    Face

    August 15, 2012 at 11:00 am

    @Corbin Dallas Multipass: Most of us dont mind that it’s about style. We’re stunned at the inference that “Midwestern sensibilities” preclude caring about appearance, state of dress, and ridiculously ill-fitting clothes.

    Yup, us Flyover Folk in Chicago, Twin Cities, KC, and St. Louis are just simple hayseeds. Where’s my chaw and Dodge pickup truck?

  37. 37.

    Violet

    August 15, 2012 at 11:01 am

    @Soonergrunt: Savannah Guthrie smacked down Reince Priebus (however you spell it) on the Today Show about the budget numbers too. I only caught part of it, but from what I heard, Priebus did nothing but whine about how m33n the Obama campaign is. He sounded sniveling and whiny. Not at all the way to attract voters.

    If the Republicans are whining about Obama being mean, we’re winning. Keep it up.

  38. 38.

    raven

    August 15, 2012 at 11:02 am

    Who gives a fuck?

  39. 39.

    anibundel

    August 15, 2012 at 11:05 am

    @Hill Dweller: They all need to start calling them out. O’Brien did it on CNN yesterday to Sununu. I’m glad to see at least some people don’t just stand there bleating like goats.

  40. 40.

    yopd1

    August 15, 2012 at 11:05 am

    Seems to be a trend, except they were asking Hillary Clinton in Kyrgzstan.

    Hillary Clinton put a pair of interviewers in their places after they asked her about her personal style, Daily Intel points out.

  41. 41.

    kvenlander

    August 15, 2012 at 11:06 am

    Ryan’s body language and affect always remind me of a gawky teenager, keeping a wary eye on others around him, self-centered, but eager to please the more powerful. The too big suits just reflect his self-image.

    If I was a Chicago thug I would start using the word “immature”.

  42. 42.

    anibundel

    August 15, 2012 at 11:06 am

    @raven: I do! But that shouldn’t surprise you.

  43. 43.

    Cassidy

    August 15, 2012 at 11:06 am

    Comes a certain age where dressing like a grown up is no longer a bad thing. Seems Ryan hasn’t rached that point yet.

  44. 44.

    Rafer Janders

    August 15, 2012 at 11:07 am

    The man believes in trimming budgets, not pant legs.

    Which is why he voted to explode the deficit under Bush, including voting for two unfunded wars, the Medicare unfunded mandate, and the bailout, and why he’s now proposing to blow up the deficit even higher by cutting taxes for the elitist rich. It’s what a man says, not what a man does, that defines him.

  45. 45.

    ExurbanMom

    August 15, 2012 at 11:08 am

    You all are so funny!

    Welcome to the life of every high-profile female candidate, as far as the Washington Post is concerned. They must dissect the wardrobe for possible clues to personality traits.

    Seriously, it’s so cute that you all are alternatively flummoxed/angry at this. High profile women can’t go more than a couple of weeks in a big campaign without getting this treatment.

  46. 46.

    Brachiator

    August 15, 2012 at 11:09 am

    Seriously, kill me now. From the MFing Washington Post

    This is the WaPo Style section, as other posters have noted.

    So, let’s cut the phoney outrage, or the ridiculous suggestion that the section of WaPo with its phasers deliberately set to Frivolous is somehow lowering the seriousness of the political conversation.

    I think that little factoid is more important than his body fat percentage.

    There is a serious story behind this. The media doesn’t quite know how to broach it, or even if it should try to touch upon it.

  47. 47.

    Cassidy

    August 15, 2012 at 11:10 am

    @ExurbanMom: Well, if she dressed cute, then it wouldn’t be an issue. And yes, big shoulder pads hide huge character flaws.

  48. 48.

    staci

    August 15, 2012 at 11:11 am

    Does anybody think any journalist will ask him how he feels about his family’s wealth considering the fact that it was made from getting government contracts to lay roads? Do you think anyone will ask about just how crooked are Chicago politics if an out-of-town contractor gets the nod for road work at O’Hare Airport? Isn’t he one of the people saying that the government doesn’t create jobs? It seems to me that Paul Ryan and benefitted mightily from the government, both personally and professionally.

  49. 49.

    Wag

    August 15, 2012 at 11:12 am

    Ryan wants to have shoulders broad enough to land a plane on, and hopes that the suit will give him that appearance.

  50. 50.

    danah gaz (fka gaz)

    August 15, 2012 at 11:12 am

    Wake me when you stop posting crap from the WaPo style section

    We have enough fluff coverage of Ryan without you dredging up crap from a section of the paper that is practically defined by lack of substance.

    Seriously, Bernard. It’s the damned style section. Exactly what were you expecting? A discussion of issues?

  51. 51.

    Corpus Christy

    August 15, 2012 at 11:13 am

    A number of comments note this piece appeared in the Style section, so who cares? Which is true as far as it goes, except that the piece uses his suit as a way to spin Ryan into an appealing, folksy character who is just too focused on budget details to visit a tailor.

    And he doubles down on the stupid in the update. Always a winning strategy, Bernard. Extra points for “is true as far as it goes,” just in case the hole you dug wasn’t deep enough to contain your idiotic “point,” such as it was.

  52. 52.

    Mark S.

    August 15, 2012 at 11:13 am

    What kills me about the press is a large segment of it is completely clueless about how unbelievably radical the Ryan budget is. It isn’t just some pie-in-the-sky bullshit budget where the numbers don’t add up that every politician trots out when they are running for prez. It eliminates taxes on capital gains, dividends, and interest, and makes paying taxes by the top .01% entirely optional. It is completely insane.

  53. 53.

    yopd1

    August 15, 2012 at 11:13 am

    @ExurbanMom: See item #40.

  54. 54.

    LanceThruster

    August 15, 2012 at 11:13 am

    Judging the POS known as Paul Ryan by his suit is like judging Einstein by his haircut.

    I have, on several occassions, had to make do with a tailoring worthy of “The Fisher King” (i.e. alterations done with a stapler). So what. Ryan’s a scary feeb because he’s a scary feeb; not because of how his mommy dresses him.

  55. 55.

    Cassidy

    August 15, 2012 at 11:13 am

    Would “flyover” country please stop sending your fucking crazy political lunatics to DC? Thank you.

  56. 56.

    Rafer Janders

    August 15, 2012 at 11:13 am

    @Violet:

    Savannah Guthrie smacked down Reince Priebus (however you spell it) on the Today Show about the budget numbers too.

    Reince Priebus is a person? My god, I’d always thought it was a type of luxury sedan.

  57. 57.

    raven

    August 15, 2012 at 11:13 am

    Update

    OK, I take it back.

  58. 58.

    Poopyman

    August 15, 2012 at 11:16 am

    Yes, it is indeed in the fucking Style section. That’s the kind of pablum that’s always in there.

    On to the next post ….

  59. 59.

    MattF

    August 15, 2012 at 11:18 am

    @danah gaz (fka gaz): Editors make choices about what to cover and how to cover it. Someone told that reporter: “Write a story about Ryan’s suit.” No one has told a reporter: “Write a story about Ryan’s media groupies.” The story is fluff, but the choice to get someone to write it and then run it (with an embarrassed wink, in the Style section) is what matters.

  60. 60.

    staci

    August 15, 2012 at 11:18 am

    @schrodinger’s cat: They are the eyes from the demon sheep.

  61. 61.

    The Moar You Know

    August 15, 2012 at 11:20 am

    Ryan’s Midwestern sensibilities and baggy pants may appeal to swing voters who think cuff links are wasteful expenditures.

    So we’re turning the future of the United States over to the slovenly gullible retard vote.

    Kill me now.

  62. 62.

    schrodinger's cat

    August 15, 2012 at 11:25 am

    @Corpus Christy: Well what do you expect, his go to econ blogger is Matty Y.

  63. 63.

    PurpleGirl

    August 15, 2012 at 11:28 am

    @Adam C: He’s a career politician from a wealthy and privileged family.

    This. It must be repeated over and over. His family is wealthy and privileged. And how did they get that way? They had government construction contracts. Government construction contracts.

  64. 64.

    Mike in NC

    August 15, 2012 at 11:32 am

    Ryan’s Midwestern sensibilities and baggy pants may appeal to swing voters who think cuff links are wasteful expenditures.

    I’ll bet $10,000 that Mitt Romney wears cufflinks with his plaid flannel shirts.

  65. 65.

    catclub

    August 15, 2012 at 11:32 am

    @Mark S.: I have seen one place outside of TPM (McClatchy, interestingly enough) that mentions that Romney’s taxes under Ryan’s tax plan drop to 1% from the already low 13%

  66. 66.

    kgc16

    August 15, 2012 at 11:32 am

    @Dork: I used to see him on c-span away back when, and I always thought he looked like one of the poor farmers in a Walker Evans photo. I actually pictured him in overalls. My apologies to the poor farmers.

  67. 67.

    SatanicPanic

    August 15, 2012 at 11:33 am

    Isn’t Barack Obama technically from the mid-west? Why don’t we get lots of stories about his appeal to mid-westerners? Oh that’s right. Sorry midwesterners- you’re not only too “frugal” to care about stuff like cuff-links (must be cause you’re out on the farm all day); you’re racist too.

  68. 68.

    sherparick

    August 15, 2012 at 11:34 am

    It is in the “Style” section yes, but the “reporter” who wrote this perpetuates all sorts of memes about Ryan (for instance “a stickler for numbers” and “budget trimmer”) that are not true. I don’t link or read the WaPo except for Klein and Sargeant, and this is one of the many reasons (Fred Hiatt, Krauthammer, Will, Charles Lane, Karen Tumulty, Lori Montgmery, etc.) why I keep hoping they go out of business.

  69. 69.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 15, 2012 at 11:35 am

    @SatanicPanic:

    Isn’t Barack Obama technically from the mid-west?

    Kenya is not in the mid-west.

    It’s in the far west.

    Obama should be wearing cowboy boots and hats, ala J.R. Ewing.

  70. 70.

    Amir Khalid

    August 15, 2012 at 11:38 am

    A man in his seventh term in the House of Representatives should have some suits that fit by now, but there are worse sins than being a sloppy dresser. If Ryan really were a policy wonk and of vice-presidential quality rather than a phony on both counts, it wouldn’t matter if he dressed like The Little Tramp.

    Obama is an undeniably sharp dresser, while no one ever pays Biden’s duds any notice; but I’ve never heard of anyone needing to discuss how presentable they were.

  71. 71.

    Brachiator

    August 15, 2012 at 11:38 am

    @The Moar You Know:

    RE: Ryan’s Midwestern sensibilities and baggy pants may appeal to swing voters who think cuff links are wasteful expenditures.

    So we’re turning the future of the United States over to the slovenly gullible retard vote.

    Nixon. Good cloth coat.

    This kind of stuff is not much different from the inane “would you have a beer with the candidate” fluff that is also used to judge political candidates.

    Of, course, the song Satisfaction says it best:

    but he can’t be a man ’cause he doesn’t smoke the same cigarettes as me

    Hey, hey, hey, that’s what I say.

  72. 72.

    mechwarrior online

    August 15, 2012 at 11:44 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    Obama is famous for walking around in mom jeans, that’s not sharp dressing.

    More to the point though, nobody cares. Other than JFK none of our politicians are really glamorous or stars. The beltway media is bound and determined to change that, but it’s idiotic theatrics. It says more about the MSM’s determination to change the “DC is full of ugly people and has to import stars from LA to get star power” jokes that get tossed about, but those jokes are true and they reflect reality.

    Oh well, Mr 6% body fat has loose fitting suits… THE HORROR!

  73. 73.

    Brachiator

    August 15, 2012 at 11:52 am

    @SatanicPanic:

    Isn’t Barack Obama technically from the mid-west?

    Yeah, that born in Hawaii stuff and being raised by his grandparents on the islands thing is just biographical fluff.

    More semi-seriously, you could argue that Obama’s world view reflects that of his mother and his grandparents, and his search and discovery of his connections to his father. How much is reflected by his later life in Chicago, who knows?

    On the other hand, Romney is probably techincally French, because of the time he spent there doing his Mormon missionary work.

  74. 74.

    scav

    August 15, 2012 at 11:54 am

    Ryan’s Midwestern sensibilities and baggy pants may appeal to swing voters who think cuff links are wasteful expenditures.

    I’d simply love to see the marketing datamining operation that drilled in and found that exact last under-appreciated and under-served voting demographic.

  75. 75.

    SatanicPanic

    August 15, 2012 at 11:58 am

    @Brachiator: He only lived in Chicago from 1985 thru 2009 and was a state representative as well as representing the state in the US Senate. I was born in a different city and grew up in another town, but when people ask I tell them I’m from the place I’ve lived in the last 10 years. I’m pretty sure that if I lived here 24 years I would be qualified to say I understand the locals.

  76. 76.

    4tehlulz

    August 15, 2012 at 12:01 pm

    OT: Two shot at the Family Research Council in DC, per TPM.

    Security guard and the shooter, apparently.

  77. 77.

    lamh35

    August 15, 2012 at 12:02 pm

    Boehner holds call to calm House GOP

    Jolted by concerns over the wave of Medicare-themed Democratic attacks sparked by Paul Ryan’s vice presidential nomination, House Speaker John Boehner held a Tuesday evening conference call aimed at soothing jittery Republican members, POLITICO has learned…

  78. 78.

    FlipYrWhig

    August 15, 2012 at 12:03 pm

    I think some of you are missing Bernard’s actual complaint. It’s not “OMG, a vapid article about Paul Ryan’s clothes,” it’s “OMG, even a vapid article about Paul Ryan’s clothes can’t avoid repeating bullshit characterizations of the guy’s earnestness and seriousness that flatter him.”

  79. 79.

    Amir Khalid

    August 15, 2012 at 12:11 pm

    @lamh35:

    “The best defense on Medicare is a good offense,” Boehner added. “And Paul Ryan gives us the ability to play offense.”

    Not that I’ve noticed. How about you?

  80. 80.

    hep kitty

    August 15, 2012 at 12:15 pm

    Yeh, well, word on the street is that the Dems are going to start throwing around terms like “MediScare” and “Vouchercare” so I have a hunch that, in the future, the media will be forced to cover something a bit more substantial than Paul Ryan’s superficial, sexeh appeal to stupid people.

    Oh, well, oops, I missed that on a previous post. But, today is the first time I have heard it, but I hope they pound it hard.

  81. 81.

    cxs

    August 15, 2012 at 12:17 pm

    @sherparick: Exactly! in addition, this serves to get non-political junkies who might read the Style section to accept the wonk image of Ryan, but doesn’t provide any substance to back it up. A sports feature could conceivably do the same thing; e.g. “Ryan’s love for numbers, straight shooting and out of the box thinking is why he’s such an ____ fan.”

  82. 82.

    Nemesis

    August 15, 2012 at 12:28 pm

    That siut, which Ive written extensively about before, appears suspiciously like an off the rack type. You know, the ones that are cut to fit with no alteration?

    ryan won us the election.

  83. 83.

    Ohio Mom

    August 15, 2012 at 12:31 pm

    Just spent the weekend with late middle-age in-laws that have been in the newspaper biz (reporting & editing) their entire adult lives. Lovely people and completely clueless, myopic and dumb about how the press is screwing us all.

    Their reaction to this post would be, “But it’s true, his suit was too big.” Which is correct, it is true. The part that there is a subtext that communicates something else — a something else that is totally misleading and terribly pernacious — is completely unfathomnable to them.

  84. 84.

    Bobby Thomson

    August 15, 2012 at 12:33 pm

    As I said in yesterday’s fashion thread, Ryan isn’t better than the gap in his budget funding.

  85. 85.

    Cassidy

    August 15, 2012 at 12:48 pm

    If a man isn’t going to pay attention to the quality of his suit or the attention to detail required to look nice, then he probably shouldn’t be put in charge of any kind of policy.

  86. 86.

    danah gaz (fka gaz)

    August 15, 2012 at 12:59 pm

    @MattF: And front-pagers at BJ make a choice about what to perpetuate.

    If Bernard is so upset about fluff coverage, than why would he deliberately delve into the style section of a newspaper?

    Furthermore, this article is critical of Ryan, to the degree that a style piece can be. Again, what was Bernard expecting? Why perpetuate additional nonsense, when we have a torrent of nonsense about Ryan circulating in the MSM anyway?

    The very fact that Bernard perpetuated this, and took the time to gripe about it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

    It’s a stupid post. Full stop.

    The update just reinforces the stupid.

  87. 87.

    Cassidy

    August 15, 2012 at 1:06 pm

    @danah gaz (fka gaz): It makes no sense because yo’re being hard headed. The majority of Americans are not politics and news junkies. The Style and Entertainment section is more relevant to the average household than the politics section. So a piece about his ill worn suit that describes it in some heart-warming, Forrest Gump, midewest colloquiallisms is going to have more of an impact on the voters than Rachel Maddow. If they perpetuate some bullshit notions that he’s a “numbers guy” or “small gov’t conservative”, then these rubes that make up the independent voters may very well carry those notions into November since they don’t bother to research anything.

  88. 88.

    The Moar You Know

    August 15, 2012 at 1:08 pm

    Jolted by concerns over the wave of Medicare-themed Democratic attacks sparked by Paul Ryan’s vice presidential nomination, House Speaker John Boehner held a Tuesday evening conference call aimed at soothing jittery Republican members, POLITICO has learned…

    @lamh35: OFA probably has at least forty hours worth of commercials – with quotes from the candidates – shot, cut, canned and ready to show on every TV station in the entire country about how Romney and Ryan are coming to put all the nice old people on ice floes and shove them out to sea.

    That noise in the distance? That’s defeat, GOP.

  89. 89.

    gogol's wife

    August 15, 2012 at 1:10 pm

    @FlipYrWhig:

    Right. The NYTimes does this too, sneaks in bogus political propaganda into their “style” articles. See Romney, Ann.

  90. 90.

    henrythefifth

    August 15, 2012 at 1:12 pm

    He does P90X!!!! EXTREME! That was trotted out again on the Today show this morning.

  91. 91.

    Cassidy

    August 15, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    @henrythefifth: In all fairness, P90X and Extreme are ball busters. If he can do the whole set, then I got give it up to him for that. But, I’m guessing, like most things, he kinda quits to “watch everyone’s form”.

    I did P90X for about 2 weeks and figured out I don’t like working out at home. I just like going to the gym.

  92. 92.

    JustMe

    August 15, 2012 at 1:19 pm

    Paul Ryan isn’t going for the “frazzled policy wonk” look. He is just your average, poorly dressed dude who thinks his suit size is a couple sizes bigger than it is, like most clueless men. That’s all there is to it.

  93. 93.

    Brachiator

    August 15, 2012 at 1:20 pm

    @SatanicPanic:

    He only lived in Chicago from 1985 thru 2009 and was a state representative as well as representing the state in the US Senate. I was born in a different city and grew up in another town, but when people ask I tell them I’m from the place I’ve lived in the last 10 years. I’m pretty sure that if I lived here 24 years I would be qualified to say I understand the locals.

    Obama still goes back to Hawaii for vacations, and to renew himself. He is still seen as a son of the state by people there. He regularly referred to his grandmother with a variation of a Hawaiian phrase, “toot.”

    From a Time Magazine article from 2008:

    And, to the islanders, it means that even though Obama may be the U.S. senator from Illinois, he really is at heart a Honolulu-born, son of Hawai’i who will drop anything to care for his family, says another Hawaii-born politician, Democratic state Sen. Clayton Hee. “It is all at once a message to the world,” says Hee, a Native Hawaiian who has served as the chairman of the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs. “It is an identity to the Islands. From the first time I heard that he referred to his grandmother as ‘Toot,’ I felt a profound linkage to this man. As a Native Son of Hawaii, it suggests very strong in my mind that there is a connection to Hawaii that remains at the core of this man who seeks to be president.”

    How you see yourself is interesting, but does not say much about how Obama might see himself. Hell, I have lived more time in California than anywhere else, and love the shit out of the state, but still consider myself to be a Texan in many ways.

    I do find it interesting, though, that even some Obama supporters have a hard time includint Obama’s Hawaii background as part of who he is. Midwest, OK, black man from Chicago, no problem. But a Hawaiian islander? Can’t grok that one.

  94. 94.

    Brachiator

    August 15, 2012 at 1:41 pm

    @FlipYrWhig:

    I think some of you are missing Bernard’s actual complaint. It’s not “OMG, a vapid article about Paul Ryan’s clothes,” it’s “OMG, even a vapid article about Paul Ryan’s clothes can’t avoid repeating bullshit characterizations of the guy’s earnestness and seriousness that flatter him.”

    Why would anyone expect a vapid article in a frou frou section of the newspaper to have anything of substance embedded in it?

    If there were an article about Ryan’s favorite football team in the Sports section, written by a hack sports writer, no one would expect much or care about how it repeated bullshit characterizations of the guy.

    It just doesn’t seem to be much to get worked up about here.

  95. 95.

    schrodinger's cat

    August 15, 2012 at 1:45 pm

    @henrythefifth: I will believe it when I see it. Its probably as true as the fact that his budget deals with deficits. MSM hype nothing more. MSM is worse than the reporters that cover Hollywood.

  96. 96.

    muddy

    August 15, 2012 at 1:53 pm

    I think Ryan deliberately wears the extra big suit because he thinks it gives him gravitas. It’s one thing to get people to titter about his low body fat %age (and how could anyone get that number except from him?), but then you don’t want to be all metrosexual with clothes that go with the body.

    Also I think it’s supposed to be a silent callback to the “greatest generation”, the suits back then were big like that too, trouser fabric going on for days. It’s a carefully chosen subliminal message, not that he doesn’t know how to find a suit that fits. Even when he wears jeans they are of the high waisted tons of fabric sort, just like in the 40’s. Dungarees.

    Interesting subliminal, as he is not only calculating the impression it makes on older voters (or those that watch old movies), but also gives the impression to younger voters that he wears huge jeans like they do, he’s hip! But wearing them belted up at the waist is retro.

    As far as the gravitas is concerned, maybe someone should tell him that big clothes don’t make a big man. His mass/gravity/mind are still scrawny, small.

  97. 97.

    Brachiator

    August 15, 2012 at 2:11 pm

    @muddy:

    I think Ryan deliberately wears the extra big suit because he thinks it gives him gravitas.

    Or maybe he is trying to invoke David Byrne with his own version of Stop Making Sense.

  98. 98.

    muddy

    August 15, 2012 at 2:15 pm

    @Brachiator: No, his rhythm is not good enough.

  99. 99.

    muddy

    August 15, 2012 at 2:22 pm

    @muddy: Replying to myself to add that his “rhythm method” must be okay tho, as he only has 3 children.

  100. 100.

    Brachiator

    August 15, 2012 at 2:28 pm

    @muddy:

    Replying to myself to add that his “rhythm method” must be okay tho, as he only has 3 children.

    Yep. I immediately thought that since Ryan seems to be against all reproductive rights, the rhythm method is all he’s got.

  101. 101.

    Triassic Sands

    August 15, 2012 at 2:39 pm

    If Ryan’s clothes had fit better, his budget plan would be more credible.

    I guess that is an article of faith at a once fine newspaper.

  102. 102.

    Soonergrunt

    August 15, 2012 at 2:43 pm

    @Cassidy: Well, we don’t want them running around here, for Dog’s sake!

  103. 103.

    DougJ

    August 15, 2012 at 3:42 pm

    I thought it was fine. It made Ryan look stupid anyway.

  104. 104.

    Right/Left = Impulse/Thoughtfulness

    August 16, 2012 at 9:15 am

    Republican puffery masquerading as “Style” to falsely promote the Republicans malevolent and dishonest VP as a ‘wonky, buff, budget cutting, thinker’ is sleazy.

    WaPo’s editors and the writer of this piece of nonsense know what they’re doing: Fluffing Republicans with dishonest stealth pieces to help Republicans create a narrative for those that might skip the Politics section and prefer the Style section.

    WaPo’s version of “fair and balance” pushed Republican talking points with one hand and then ‘balanced’ with ridiculous comments about how a “rumpled” look is an asset.

    Bonus: WaPo literally used a professional propagandist to puff Ryan, literally outsourcing stenography to a PR firm.

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