Friday, January 28, 2005

Yet another national embarassment
I'm sure you've all seen this by now.
At yesterday's gathering of world leaders in southern Poland to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the United States was represented by Vice President Cheney. The ceremony at the Nazi death camp was outdoors, so those in attendance, such as French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin, were wearing dark, formal overcoats and dress shoes or boots. Because it was cold and snowing, they were also wearing gentlemen's hats. In short, they were dressed for the inclement weather as well as the sobriety and dignity of the event.

The vice president, however, was dressed in the kind of attire one typically wears to operate a snow blower.

...[T]he vice president looked like an awkward boy amid the well-dressed adults.


Kos had the same reaction I had on seeing this, "Cheney was properly dressed for the inaugurtion last week, which makes this breach of etiquette that much more puzzling." We on the Left often speak of the Vice President as the only grown-up in the White House, a sinister and scary grown-up, but definately a grown-up. My clever wife looked at the picture and said his posture doesn't so much look like that of an "awkward boy" as that of someone pondering the horrible revenge he's going to take on the staffer responsible for this embarassment.

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