Concentration camp casual

last updated 8 January 2015

Oswiecim, Poland

Vice President Dick Cheney stood out last week as the only dignitary who dressed informally for ceremonies commemorating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Dozens of other world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, attended the outdoor speeches in formal overcoats, dress shoes, and fedoras. But Cheney wore a parka, hiking boots, and a knit cap that said “Staff 2001.” His outfit was “the kind of attire one typically wears to operate a snowblower,” said critic Robin Givhan in The Washington Post. The White House had no comment, but several commentators said Cheney should be judged by the moving remarks he delivered at an earlier Holocaust event, not by his surprising choice of outerwear.