Time magazine's website made a cutesy list of the "The 10 Best (Topical) Halloween Costumes of 2011." Number two on the list was the "GOP presidential candidates." You could be Michele Bachmann and look "overly wide-eyed, like you just drank a coffeemaker." Wear a nightcap with your Rick Perry costume for his "sleepiness on the campaign trail." Herman Cain has a "gimmicky jobs plan" inside a pizza box.
The candidates were flanked by Pregnant Beyonce at number one, and Qadhafi at number three. Then came Kate Middleton, Rebecca Black, "A Mormon" and "An Anonymous Hacker" with the V For Vendetta mask. Number 10 was "A Protester," but Time didn't find that very funny. You can dress however you want, because you can't caricature them as hippies. You can caricature Republicans as dumb, sleepy, or gimmicky:
Here's the copy from the GOP page, where Time honors Newsweek's diss-Michele cover:
Michele Bachmann
What you'll need:
• The Aug. 15, 2011, cover of Newsweek
• Rubber bands
• Staples
Cut out Bachmann's face from Newsweek cover, poke holes through eyes, staple rubber bands at the edges and place on your face. Tip: it helps to walk around overly wide-eyed, like you just drank a coffeemaker. As for the outfit, you can just reuse your Sarah Palin getup from last year.
Rick Perry
What you'll need:
• Chaps
• Rugged, Carhartt-style coat
• An oversize belt buckle
• Nightcap
The first three items will let people know you're Texas' swaggering "jobs governor." The nightcap emphasizes Perry's sleepiness on the campaign trail.
Herman Cain
What you'll need:
• A suit
• A pizza box
• A gimmicky jobs plan to restore America to fiscal sustainability and greatness through a systematic overhaul of the federal tax code
Open pizza box, place jobs plan inside. Tip: your plan will sound much more persuasive if you repeat a single number over and over again. Or if you give it extra cheese.
For contrast, Time's number ten best (topical) Halloween's costume was "A Protester," specifically Occupy Wall Street. Time felt it was important to take the appearance seriously, because the protesters aren't hippie slackers, they're very diverse in their clothing choices:
What you'll need:
• A clever sign
• Comfortable shoes (optional)
Since the Occupy Wall Street movement made camp in lower Manhattan on Sept. 17, cities from Los Angeles to Boston to Anchorage have been periodically occupied. That means, wherever you choose to sport your protest gear on All Hallow's Eve, the getup is sure to be a hit. But there's a catch: these protesters are not one-size-fits-all, so you can't just toss on your parents' old Woodstock threads and call it a day. Indeed, these protesters wear everything from suits and ties to jeans and sneakers. The lack of uniformity in dress makes the sign the most crucial component of this costume. Wear whatever you'd like, but make sure to carry a sign that says something clever, snarky and/or negative about rich people. Just be sure your costume doesn't cost too much — you want to look much more 99% than 1%.
