Pres. Cheney's Attire at the Auschwitz Ceremony, Bad Form or no Biggy?

[mopaul]

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/images/I43195-2005Jan27L

Some are pissed about president Cheney's Air Force parka, cheap knit hat, Army boots, etc. The overall effect was that he stuck out among the dignitaries like a silver dollar in a goat's ass.

Was it diplomatically inappropriate, or much ado about nothing?

To me the overall effect was to draw attention to himself as the ruler of the world and to spit on the memory of all those who perished under the army boot of fascism.

[Nightwing]

1. Cheney goes Castro

That's how I'd read into his choice of attire; Speaks volumes as to this administrations motives and where we are headed. Damn them all!

[Minstrel Boy]

5. Bad rap on Castro. Here's how he dressed for Pierre Trudeau's funeral:

[MarianJack]

9. That Damn Commie!!!

How dare he look better them our vice-perzeedint! He don't have to be busy pertekin' his peeples frum hummasechils, Janet Jackson's tits and Nicolette Sheridan droppin' her towel in front'a black guys!

Our perzeedint & vice-perzeedint are doin' the right thing, makin' sure we's iz scared to death of our own shadas! Now lee me 'lone! I gotsa' go watch Fox!

[China_cat]

2. It was totally inappropriate.

Sort of like wearing a thong to your grandmother's funeral.

In a time when the rest of the world has lost any respect it ever had for the US, why publicly say "I don't give a shit what you think"?

[DemExpat]

3. Most inappropriate.

:thumbsdown:

DemEx

[tsuki]

4. I find it difficult for Bush to say he is "reaching out for meaningful

talks with our traditional allies," and have Cheney show up like a lumberjack at a formal ceremony, and then have Biden tell tell our allies that this is the way Bush is "get over it."

Mixed messages, and not the sort to win friends and influence people.

[MarianJack]

6. Not Only Was He Thumbing His Nose...

...at the victims, but at the thousands of American GIs who fought in that war and whose families lost a husband, dad, granddad, son, brother or uncle, as well as the women who died in the service.

But, then again, contempt for the people is a hallmark of the halliburton administration.

[AlienGirl]

7. It was worse than bad form

Cheney knew better. If he didn't, that's why he has a whole TEAM of handlers--to intercept fashion disasters and the like and keep him from looking like a putz.

In my :tinfoilhat: opinion, he did it on purpose to pander to the lowest of the extreme right-wing, sending the message that he really doesn't care about the Holocaust, maybe even that he doesn't believe it happened.

At the very least, it's a not-so-subtle nose-thumbing at Europe; but I can't help thinking it's a bit more than that.

Tucker

[murray hill farm]

27. That was my take on it!

There are pictures of him the day before and the evening after and he was wearing a heavy wool black coat..so, we do know that he had with him appropriate and warm atire..which he could have worn to the ceremonies. His hunting outfit was a choice and it was intentional.

[deutsey]

8. It lacked the decorum appropriate for such a somber remembrance

That it apparently didn't matter to him says a lot about the kind of person he is.

In the larger scheme of things, though, he's done and said far worse than dressing inappropriately for a memorial.

[liveoaktx]

25. Vid Crowd Shot

Decorum-that's what he was lacking

Sore Thumb

[LynnTheDem]

10. VERY inappropriate, VERY disrespectful.

And the BULLSHIT rhetoric of him being old & in ill-health so he "has to dress warm" is BULLSHIT.

You can dress just was warmly in PROPER attire as you can in inappropriate & disrespectful attire, just as the dick did at the inaugeration and the next day in Auschwitz.

He looked like a total FOOL and he brought more shame on all of us.

[Minstrel Boy]

11. It's that "Staff 2001" hat I can't shake.

What the hell?

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. First of all, that was a 'hunting' outfit that he wore

Did you hear what was written on his cap? "Staff - 2001".

So let me see if I get this right, Cheney shows up at a funeral wearing a hunting parka with 'white' fur trim and work boots. Then he tops it off by wearing a cap that says 'Staff' and the year '2001' which just happens to be the same year that 3000 people were killed on American soil under his watch.

Cheney has been in politics all his life and he knows the rules of conduct and dress for such a a solemn event. He did this on purpose. It was his childish way to get in people faces and insult as many people as possible to show how powerful he is and that he can get away with. He once again proved to the world that he is a very sick mother fucker.

[deutsey]

13. I love that ref. to Matthew

Whenever I hear about all the horrible things the Busheviks are doing to the least of our brothers and sisters around the world, I think of this quote.

Too bad all the fundies that support Bush don't seem to make that same connection.

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. That's why I've started making these little 'holy' cards

I print them out from my computer printer and I stick them on fundie cars when I go shopping.

I went out to eat the other night and put one on a car. I happen to get a seat in the restaurant where I could see the car that I marked. Towards the end of the meal, the older couple who owned the SUV and the people that were in the car next to them came out and I got to watch them react to my little 'holy' card. This was the first time I got to watch someone actually get the card and I got two full cars of pro-Bush fundies for the price of one. It was a great moment.

[onecent]

26. I would have loved to have seen that. I'm so sick of seeing all

the B*** shit on cars still. Good for you these are great.

[Minstrel Boy]

17. They're in their strength, and unafraid to show their true selves.

It was a deliberate poke in the eye to anti-fascists.

[DoYouEverWonder]

28. As usual

you got it.

That is exactly what Cheney was doing. Why? Because he knows he can get away with it. Whose going to stop them now?

[Yuugal]

14. lighten up

Cold and old don't go together. I'm guessing he wore the warmest coat he had. How can we blame someone for trying to stay warm while attending something like this? Its winter, its bitter cold, he has heart problems and he is old. I'll give him a pass on the ugly jacket.....just not on the war-mongering, corruption, and fascism.

[DoYouEverWonder]

16. Would you wear a 'hunting' outfit to a funeral?

with a cap that says "Staff - 2001"?

Cheney did this on purpose. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Besides, if he is that old and sick, then he isn't fit to be VP and should step down.

[shance]

37. He looked like he was headed to a Green Bay game.

Such blatant arrogance.

Hang on Lady Lib***

[Vinca]

18. Somehow I think Mr. Cheney has enough money set aside

to purchase a warm black coat and a warm black hat. He looked like a homeless guy who was just outfitted in someone's old "staff" hat and army jacket. It's embarrassing.

[Minstrel Boy]

19. It was freezing in Washington on the 20th, too.

Would you have excused him then, if he'd worn a green parka and knit cap?

[Yuugal]

22. yes

I'm totally against the culture of "proper clothing". If I yelled about Darth's coat I'd be a hypocrite because I'm always the guy in the crowd who obviously doesn't give a crap what he looks like. Sweatpants and flannel forever!

[Demit]

20. Deliberate display of contempt. No doubt in my mind. He shamed us.

[madrchsod]

21. i watched part of the ceremonies yesterday on link tv

there were survivors of the camp with no hats on their heads while the snow was falling. older men than cheney were standing there....it was... i really don`t know how to describe the scene....
this bunch of killers are not any better than the people who started the "final solution" they would do this to us if they could...shit, they already can.

[TWiley]

23. Exactly

When bush toured in 2001, he asked a curator "doesn't anyone ever question the authenticity of this stuff?" or something of equal effect.

Now time for a POP Quiz What organization believes the folowing:

1) Creationism
2) Strongly anti-homosexual
3) Strongly anti-affermitive action
4) Strongly pro-life
5) Strongly anti-communist
6) "Family" Values
7) The holocost is a myth perpetuated by Jews
8) Strongly supports the NRA
9) Strongly believes in military action
10) Strongly believes that "US" is better than "THEM"

Answeres (pick only one)

The Aryan Nations
The National Alliance
The Council of Conservative Citizens
The KKK
The League of the South
The Order
The Skin Heads
The Hammerskin Nation
The Neo-Nazi movement
The Christian Identity movement
The Possee Comatatus
The Randy Weaver - Mc Viegh malitia types
The Republican party

Oh wait, they have all become the same outfit !!

[Dogmudgeon]

24. I doubt it was deliberate

"Ignorance" is the more likely explanation. Team Bush isn't clueless because of stupidity; they just don't care what other people think. The stock answer is that they are not boors, but "Rugged Individualists".

No planning need go into a gaffe like this. It's an insult that's part of the seamless fabric of their arrogance and mentality of entitlement.

--p!

[LostinVA]

29. Did he dress in shorts and a t-shirt for Reagan's funeral???

Of course not! And damn! It gets hot in DC that time of year.

OF COURSE it was deliberate! Of course Cheney knows how to dress for a funeral and/or a state occasion! Crashcart has ALWAYS dressed appropriately! The parka is bad enough the hiking boots? OMG. THE HAT WITH STAFF 2001??? Go to hell you son-of-a-bitch. Everyone on DU making excuses for him needs to understand he knows what he's doing.

If he is too sick to handle the cold, send someone else from the government.

There are lots of warm cold-weather clothes, including black shoes boots. Cashmere coats, etc. Wear a fur hat with the flaps down, wear Arctic explorer underclothes and Gore-Tex stuff under your suit/coat. And, someone NO ONE has mentioned: a LONG black coat would be warmer than a SHORT parka.

My Dad lives in NC, but travels for business to Canada, the Upper Midwest, and Germany alot in the winter. And he has to dress up. He has NICE attire for extremely cold weather.

Everyone else looked nice. Cheney did what he wanted to do, who the hell knows what the reason was.

These people think they run the Reich. Read and look at stuff about Himmler, Goering, et al... they all acted like arrogant pricks.

A friend of mine's grandmother was in Auschwitz, and wore her tattoo under the day she died. Her whole family died there. Let that sink in: HER WHOLE FAMILY. Over 100 people.

Again, he knows what to wear to a solemn state occasion. There are NO excuses.

[Isere]

30. I don't think he did it deliberately

in order to insult the others and show disdain for the ceremony.

I think he did it because he doesn't get it. He thinks he's above all laws and conventions. What applies to others doesn't apply to him.

Plus he has no class and no breeding.

[LostinVA]

31. We're on the same side, so I'm not arguing with you

But what you wrote, to me, shows he did it deliberately. Did he do it in a "f*ck the Jews" way? Not necessarily, but he KNOWS how to dress for a State occasion, as a rep of the United States. He isn't a stupid man by any means. He did it because it wasn't important to him, it was just something he had to do, so screw it. He gets it, but he doesn't care. You're spot on with that.

[Karenina]

33. Until you realize it was a DELIBERATE

INSULT meted out with forethought and malice, you will never begin to recognize the enormity of the jackboot hovering over ALL our heads...

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Simeon Salus]

34. Subconcious demonstration Dick really doesn't care what people think.

Lynne dressed more appropriately, so someone in the family had a sense of decorum.

Wouldn't June Cleaver have mentioned to Ward that they were visiting a cemetary?


:dunce:"Aw shit, I only packed the emergency weather parka."

:silly:"Watch that language, Ward, they speak French here!"

:dunce:"I'll be the only f*cking person not wearing black."

:silly:"True, but you'll also be the only one wearing a monogram."


I got yer family values right here, bucko!

[Swamp Rat]

35. Did he wear his cowboy boots?

[Minstrel Boy]

36. No. That would have been a mark of respect. He wore

"brown, lace-up hiking boots"

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20050128-0618-cheney-parka.html

[DoYouEverWonder]

40. Here's Cheney wearing those hiking boots

with a bunch of his hunting buddies. Funny he's well enough to go hunting but then he's too sick to dress appropriately for a solemn ceremony were he is the US representative. Cheney should go cheney himself.

[Spazito]

38. There is no question it was deliberately dis-respectful

There is a photo of him and his daughter the very next day and he is dressed in a black overcoat so the argument that that green jacket was all he had is crap. He wore suitable clothes, black overcoat, at the inaugural.

His disdain for the memorial was in full display in his dress and his demeanor.

[Jawja]

39. No biggie.

Just shows the world a total lack of CLASS, which is a reflection on our leadership and a reflection on the 'Murkin People.