Tony Dokoupil, who once asked "is journalism ready for a black president" in the Columbia Journalism Review -- he also excerpted it in a blog entry at Huffington Post -- gave Newsweek readers a look at what the presidential candidates' neckties say about the men who wear them.
You may scoff now, but Dokoupil sure finds it a knotty problem (emphases mine):
So what does the knot say about today's presidential candidates? In McCain's case, it screams old-guard Washington establishment, like a bolo screams cowboy. According to his top adviser, Mark Salter, the Arizona senator wears his tie with either a Windsor or the related half-Windsor knot--a configuration long favored by Beltway elites and, at least judging by the photos, nearly every U.S. president in the 20th century.... McCain's Windsor might seem like an odd choice for a self-proclaimed maverick, but it reflects the senator's public struggle to remain true to himself despite the distorting pressure of the presidential campaign. [...]
Story Continues Below Ad ↓Obama, on the other hand, still hounded by charges of elitism, takes a less formal, more middle-class tack. Based on an unscientific sampling of recent photos--including the Men's Vogue cover--he most often wears his necktie with a four-in-hand knot, an awkward and asymmetrical cinch invented by 19th-century carriage drivers (who held four reigns in hand) and popularized by Dilbert-types looking for a no-hassle way to spruce up for work. "It's a knot for someone who has 30 seconds for his tie in the morning," says Blackman, "a knot for the masses." The Obama campaign didn't respond to NEWSWEEK's inquiry about his ties (the nerve!), and the use of varying fabrics--which hold folds differently--make it tough to be certain about the senator's knot. But this much is at least clear: the Obama knot marks a definite break from the geometric Windsors of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Now that's sartorial change we can believe in.
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters. You can follow him on Twitter here
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Next up: cooler underwear another reason to vote Obama
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 10:50 ET by SickofLibsLemme guess: McCain tighty-whities, Obama boxers.
Is that the best they can do to try to influence the vote?
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 11:13 ET by mizflame98Neckties? I can see it now. Thoes undecided voters can think to themselves how they were going to vote for McCain but since Obama has a common knot in his tie, he's our man! Has it ever occured to these nuckle-heads that McCain might not tie his own tie? He's unable to tie his shoes, do his hair, and type on a keyboard thanks to his war/torture injuries.
“Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula? I mean, they’re charging a lot of money for this stuff.”
B.H. Obama
Neck Ties
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 11:25 ET by AvitarThe Winsor or half Windsor is worn in Washington because they are the knots of the middle class. Few people wear ties often enough to learn the bow tie and the other knots are the exclusive province of the effeminate elates from Boston, New York, Chicago Seattle and San Francisco.
Metrosexual Topic!
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 16:06 ET by stratmanI suspect most men tie their ties the same way they learned when they were young.
I learned the four-in-hand first from a parent - it's the easiest to learn. Years later I went to a full or half (primary method) Windsor as a way to maintain symmetry - it just looked neater and complemeted my clothing better.
http://www.totieatie.com/
"Real
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 11:14 ET by GOPG8RSo nice to see that while the MSM is ignoring Obama's real links with Ayers, Obama's abortion record, his ties to Kenya, etc. etc. etc. .... they are talking about things that matter! How a man ties his ties is definitely a big deal.