Yes, We Tan

At Obama’s latest press conference, many Twitter users overlooked the great global crises and conflicts. The main subject among them was his unusual fashion statement. On Thursday, the president took questions from reporters dressed in a beige summer-weight suit. His “tan suit,” as they call it in America, fired up tempers all across the Internet.

“President Obama Shames America by Wearing Wack-Ass Tan Suit,” said the headline at the Gawker blog. Damian Paletta of the Wall Street Journal tweeted, “I’m sorry but you can’t declare war in a suit like that.” Hundreds of similar tweets resulted from Obama’s press conference, many of them under the motto, “Yes, we tan,” a parody on an earlier Obama campaign slogan.

And it didn’t stop there; “Taupe and Change” was lifted from Obama’s famous 2008 election slogan. Others recalled his best seller “The Audacity of Hope,” transforming it into “The Audacity of Taupe.”

Obama’s light-colored suit set observers into a frenzy because he usually appears in dark suits. In an interview given to Vanity Fair prior to his 2012 re-election, he explained that in addition to all the important decisions he had to make as president, he couldn’t really get enthusiastic about deciding what clothes to wear.

His latest public appearance in beige proved that his strategy of taking a mild fashion risk had definite advantages. Many praised his new courage on the Internet; in defense of some Internet fans, many were upset that the issue caused such a stir in the first place, suggesting that people take more of an interest in what he says than how he looks in public.