Obama's Style Shift Working for Voters

Dem buttons shirt, dons necktie to convey authority
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 2, 2008 7:28 PM CST
Obama's Style Shift Working for Voters
To help convey the presidential look, Democratic hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has forsaken the tieless suit look in favor of the more buttoned-up Washington look familiar to his peers, like former Democratic presidential nominee and fellow senator John Kerry. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)   (Associated Press)

It’s no wardrobe malfunction: Barack Obama has ditched his trademark casual look for buttoned-up Washington style, Politico reports. As Hillary Clinton carped about his lack of experience, the Illinois senator began donning suits and ties. Aides shrug off the switch, saying it was prompted by weather, but political consultants insist it’s no accident.

There’s “nothing that isn’t calculated,” one said. “Everything is strategy, especially image.” Another added that Obama’s everyman style needed a revision: “He had to look the part.” A reporter noticed his new attire when Obama stumped through small Iowa towns "where ties are few and far between." Two weeks later, he had matched Hillary in state polls and stuck with the new style. (More Barack Obama stories.)

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