Obama/Biden and Power Ties
Not that I spend my time obsessively watching Barack Obama, but my impression is that he tends to favor the ‘man of the people’ blue tie. The image currently running on the website, is a perfect example:
Taken from www.barackobama.com
It’s a calming tie - a tie that says, “Come hope with me, etc.’
Even during the debates, I never saw him wear the bright red tie that we usually associate with presidential power.
But now that he’s chosen a running mate, I bet we’re going to be seeing the red ‘power’ tie a lot more often. For instance, during his introduction of Biden as a running mate:
Richard Perry/The New York Times
I bet we’re going to see a much more aggressive Obama now that he has a friendly, loquacious running mate to carry the hope. Biden’s tie is the exact color worn by Obama in so many of his promotional photos.
And lest you think I’m over-analyzing the wardrobe choices - I guarantee the Obama campaign but way more thought into those ties than I put into this post. (Though, we could say that of almost anything, couldn’t we?)
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August 24th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I’m impressed with your eye for detail.
I would never notice something like that!!
August 24th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Ha, thanks. I like to think of it as more of a sad analness.
August 24th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
I noticed that Biden had the Obama blue tie, but didn’t put it together with the ‘presidential red’ tie. Pls write history of presidential ties, thnx!
August 24th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
It was a thing during the 2004 campaign that I remember.
Sad little bunny that I am, I found pictures from the 04 election. I’ll post about it later, when I’m more actively avoiding planning my tutes for this week.
August 24th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
In Aust we’re big on the “golden” power tie. Of course when I say ‘we’ I mean John Howard; haven’t yet noticed a Rudd tie-colour preference.
August 24th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Rudd tends to favor the light blue tie as well - but you’re right, Australia has an entirely different concept when it comes to men’s outfitting.
Perhaps Howard chose golden ties to symbolise the Coalition’s fiscal management (or the financial ruin he anticipated under Labor)
Oh, KRudd sometimes like to rock that purple tie, too. But he’s got that same kind of ‘I’m not going to harm you’ muted colors going on.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
The O team has seemed to be quite conscious of the power of symbols at every turn of this campaign. Like these fashion choices, he seems to have a good historian on his staff, they use every opportunity to present images that remind the viewer of past campaigns, for example the bobby kennedy rolled up sleeves or the Obama symbol that looks like a presidential seal.
November 10th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Check out the Barack Obama website now. They’ve added a red tie to the picture of him where clearly there was no tie before. Now THAT is completely unnecessary!