Ethics

That Bush Oval Office Jacket Thing? Not So Much

By Ed Brayton

Remember all that mock outrage from Bush chief of staff Andrew Card about how Bush refused to enter the oval office without a jacket on, just like Reagan, because they just had so much gosh darn respect for the place? Yeah, not so much. Here's what Card said:

I found that Ronald Reagan and both President Bushes treated the Oval Office with tremendous respect. They treated the Office of the Presidency with tremendous respect. And some of that respect was reflected in how they expected people to behave, how they expected them to dress when they walked into the symbol of freedom for the world, the Oval Office. And yes, I'm disappointed to see the casual, laissez faire, short sleeves, no shirt and tie, no jacket, kind of locker room experience that seems to be taking place in this White House and the Oval Office...

"There should be a dress code of respect," Card tells INSIDE EDITION. "I wish that he would wear a suit coat and tie."

And here's Bush in the oval office sans jacket just two days after he was inaugurated:

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on February 10, 2009 (boomark / email).