First Lady Michelle Obama wore a jacket with a $6, 800 pricetag to a Buckingham Palace reception Friday night. I could care less and hope that she enjoyed it.
Still, it is difficult not to notice the wildly different treatment the press accords to Democrats and Republicans in these matters. Remember when Ann Romney showed up in a $990 T-shirt to be interviewed on TV? The press went crazy—it showed how out of touch the rich Romneys are (as opposed to how in touch with regular folks the rich Obamas are).
Noting the Washington Post’s “Fit for a Queen (Truly)” item on Mrs. Obama’s recent jacket, Tim Graham of NewsBusters comments:
The very same Washington Post greeted the GOP nominee's wife with a much different spin online, despite a lower price tag. The headline was “Ann Romney's $990 T-shirt is indicative of a tone-deaf campaign” and Suzi Parker began by asking “Does Ann Romney wear her $990 designer shirt while driving one of her two Cadillacs?” At least the Post alerted Washingtonians someone had critized Mrs. Obama for "not dressing up enough" in London:
Michelle Obama has been criticized for not dressing up enough for Queen Elizabeth II, so she stepped up her game Friday night at an Olympics reception for heads of state at Buckingham Palace. The first lady wore a very fancy J. Mendel capsleeve jacket — “white viscose techno crepe tailored jacket with overlapped side panels and silver embroidery” from the 2013 Resort collection, according to a press release from the company. It’s not in stores yet, but high-end retailer Moda Operandi listed the jacket at a princely $6,800. The White House declined to comment.
Can you imagine how handsome Mitt Romney would be if he were a Democrat?
If the Romneys were Democrats, the media would be swooning and falling all over themselves to compare pictures of the vacationing Romneys, with attractive grandchildren climbing all over them, to the Kennedys and Hyannisport.