How Romney Brought It, in Style, at Debate No. 1
By Kurt Soller
At this point in the race, and especially during this election cycle, as fashion bloggers and amateur Internet pundits and bona fide print-media critics, and voters, of course, have analyzed every sartorial move, the political clothing choices seem so carefully considered that you'd think Barack Obama and Mitt Romney got here merely on the strength of their tie racks. That's obviously not the case, but it was a foregone conclusion even before last night's bizarre take on theater that we'd see the following: dark suits, white shirts, flag pins, a red tie, a blue tie, hair that's going grey at the perimeter (almost purposely, it looks, to suggest these men are stressed, worn-down, trying oh-so-hard to earn the electorate's respect), and two candidates forced to grin at each other — a smile that's as carefully considered as everything else, clothing-wise at least, that happened on TV from Denver.
Mitt Romney came to work. That's what all the political folks are saying, but I saw something of a CEO the moment he stepped onto stage. It's too bad that his tie, which had golden threads woven through it, made the TV cameras dance with weird, Etch-a-Sketch-like distortion, because it was a smart choice. Dignified, even, and the correct width. It matched his lapels perfectly (though his lavalier microphone was too close to his neck, to the point of being distracting) and it was eye-catching. The proportions made sense, in other words, and the repp stripes added some personality — a clear emphasis of this campaign — without working too hard. Still, he could have knotted it tighter, as to add a dimple.
And Romney's flag pin, by contrast, was far too large. As if he was trying to prove he was the more American success story: that CEO we know, but also just a Midwestern guy who is proud of where he came from and where he's headed. More fundamentally, wearing a larger pin — which, in itself, is a piece of jewelry, though probably a pretty cheap one — just served, for me at least, to underline the wealth that's come from all his business success. It's a weird show of machismo.
(At this point is where I should probably say something about how excellent Mitt Romney's hair looked. Because it did. But this thought will forever be hidden in parentheticals as to avoid reiterating something that's as obvious as the fact that it's currently October.)
Obama, on the other hand, seemed to be lacking the swagger, the strength in presenting and dressing himself well, that got people excited not just about his politics, but about his star-like persona, back in 2007. The tie seemed too wide, and the lapels did, too, making his head appear smaller than it is, which wasn't helping when he couldn't even decide where he wanted to place his gaze. It also read on television as solid blue — on the massive HD screen I was watching, at least — though you can see in the photos there's some white in that silk. It looked plain, like there wasn't much forethought, even perhaps, like he was coasting: I got this.
On one hand, in our modern debate cycle, where everyone has an opinion — where reporters and regular citizens explain constantly that they can't watch the debates without constantly checking their Twitter feeds — it's hard to separate these clothes from the conventional wisdom about who "won" the debate. Still, confidence — or the very appearance of winning, even if you're not — plays pretty heavily into getting dressed and making people believe that you look fantastic. That's why last night was fascinating: Even as Obama looked the part (he always does), it was Romney that made us believe something new: He's got this, too.
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