The petty controversy: A photo of President Obama wearing flip-flops at a Hawaii ice cream shop made the front page of Wednesday's New York Post, paired with the incredulous headline: "Should the leader of the free world dress like this — even on vacation?" A public display of flip-flops may be a presidential first, the Post reports, and some think the adoption of such "wimpy footwear" should be a presidential last, too. "You don't think you're going to see Vladimir Putin wearing flip-flops, do you?" griped one unidentified Washington commentator quoted in the Post.
The reaction: The Post really thinks it's front-page news that the off-duty president wore flip-flops to buy his daughters ice cream, "in effing Hawaii"? asks Justin Fenner in Styleite. There is "no grand tradition of presidential footwear," and it shouldn't even have to be said that "cheap-looking black flip-flops" in no way spell "the end of formal government decorum as we know it." Look, "I am far more outraged that George W. Bush wore Crocs," says Brian Moylan in Gawker. But let's face it, flip-flops "are disgusting, uncouth, and unattractive." The only reason Obama gets a pass, this time, is that "he was on vacation. When you are not at work you don't have to answer to anyone."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'King's horses take free rein through London'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
Is pop music now too reliant on gossip?Talking Point Taylor Swift's new album has prompted a flurry of speculation over who she is referring to in her songs
-
Nuclear near-missesThe Explainer From technical glitches to fateful split-second decisions, the world has come to the brink of nuclear war more times than you might think
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion banSpeed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling BiblesSpeed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitnessIn Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
