The nomination, however, does hold significance for the Obama Administration as the first of his cabinet members to largely avoid scandal on his way to confirmation. Holder now stands seventh in the line of Presidential Succession.

Because of a higher-than-normal level of Presidential coverage over the weekend, we’re breaking form and again covering the President’s weekend neck wear for March 7-8. In a brazen show of candid behavior that some critics will call reckless, President Obama was photographed Saturday leaving Washington D.C. for the Maryland Presidential Retreat sans neck wear.

On Sunday, he returned home to celebrate Ted Kennedy’s 77th birthday in a stylish green neck tie. The pattern on this casual affair resembles celestial bodies orbiting one another. Neck of State is happy to see that the President relaxed a bit over the weekend, and we are confident that this casual set of neck wear choices will be more comforting than warm kittens playing poker to a public distressed by the nation’s economic downturn.

On Monday, the President wore a new blue/white striped tie while signing the Executive Order on stem cells and a Presidential Memorandum on scientific integrity. Scientists across the nation have been clamoring for this action for years, a move that Neck of State sees as the beginning of the end of the federal government’s War on Science. This new tie signals a dawn of integrity and transparency in the federal government’s treatment of scientific endeavor.

Tuesday and Wednesday, the President wore previously used neck ties.

Neck of State notes that the tie that he wore on Tuesday (”Complex Red”) was probably too long for him, and we were not able to immediately determine if this had any impact on his meeting with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

In his sixth weekly address to the nation, President Obama came off the blocks like a leopard at Gallipoli, vehemently reasserting his dedication changing the direction of the United States, no matter who it angers in Washington. From the video:

I realize that passing this budget won’t be easy. Because it represents real and dramatic change, it also represents a threat to the status quo in Washington. I know that the insurance industry won’t like the idea that they’ll have to bid competitively to continue offering Medicare coverage, but that’s how we’ll help preserve and protect Medicare and lower health care costs for American families. I know that banks and big student lenders won’t like the idea that we’re ending their huge taxpayer subsidies, but that’s how we’ll save taxpayers nearly $50 billion and make college more affordable. I know that oil and gas companies won’t like us ending nearly $30 billion in tax breaks, but that’s how we’ll help fund a renewable energy economy that will create new jobs and new industries. In other words, I know these steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they’re gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them is this:

So am I.

Emphasis mine.

This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen that Obama is ready to fight. When it comes to the policies of the Bush administration, it seems like Obama is resorting to the hatchet rather than the scalpel. The latest Bush trademark to get cut is none other than the Iraq War. On Friday President Obama announced that he would end U.S. combat operations in Iraq by August 31, 2010. Bringing the war to a responsible end was central to Obama’s campaign platform, so this move in itself does not come as a large surprise.

But nobody expected that he would end the war while wearing the same tie that he used when closing the facility at Guantanamo Bay. During his campaign to be President, Obama repeatedly promised he’d bring a new attitude to the war on terrorism. The two most important steps he has thus far taken in implementing this vision were the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, and now ending the Iraq War, and he did both in the same neck tie. Neck of State hopes that the President will consistently reshape the country’s military strategy while wearing this austere burgundy accessory.

White House Photo / Pete Souza

After decades of intensive training, years of strategy development, months of planning, weeks of negotiation, and ten seconds of penning, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act this week in Denver, CO. The passage represents an important symbolic victory for a President who took office amidst an economic and fashion maelstrom.

Two days after signing the bill, the President fled the country to Canada, possibly to carry his message of economic recovery through economic stimulus and neck wear fashion to our allies in the North.

For the second Thursday in a row, the president wore his American striped blue tie. It’s appropriate that Obama would wear a tie with American stripes on his first visit to a foreign country while in office. As a candidate in 2008, Obama’s foreign policy credentials were frequently criticized, and now he’s making a daring statement to the world about who he represents (i.e. the American People).

The President also wore the same tie this Monday (February 16, 2009) that he wore last Tuesday (February 10, 2009). This is the first time that the President has worn the same tie twice in a seven day period, which some analysts think may point to the early signs of stress setting in after the challenging start to his first term in office.

Emphasis mine.

Leaving aside that President Obama spent his first eleven days in office undoing every Bush Policy that he could find (certainly a sign of individuality), the assertion of this piece lies in direct contradiction to the fact that the President wore at least two neckties that were neither red nor blue during his first eleven days in office.

On January 26th, President Obama signed an executive order enabling fourteen states to set strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency for cars and trucks. He is pictured below during the signing of this “green” legislation wearing a dark green tie.

Original Photo Credit: Getty Images/Mark Wilson

To their credit, the NY Daily News did include this tie in their analysis, they just inappropriately labeled it as dark blue. Neck of State has analyzed several photos of the President from the 26th of January, and in all of our tests, the tie came up as more green than blue.

Just a few days later on January 29th, Obama posed with Lillly Ledbetter, the namesake of recent legislation that makes it easier for women to file fair-pay lawsuits. His tie in the snapshot below is not only neither red nor blue, but also carries a non-traditional “static” pattern.

Original Photo Credit: Getty Images/Mark Wilson

Together, these tie choices represent more than 20% of the ties that the President wore on business days during his first eleven days in office.

The Daily News clearly came to a conclusion based on their expectation of what Barack Obama would wear simply because, yes, many people in Northwest Washington D.C. wear red or blue ties. They wrote what they thought listeners wanted to hear, and didn’t bother to actually look at the data. Luckily, Neck of State did bother:

Pictured above are President Obama’s neck ties for his first nine business-days in office. From left to right are the ties he wore on January 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30 of this year.

At Neck of State we carefully catalog the President’s ties every day, and we will never report based on preconceived notions of Washington D.C. fashion. We look forward to sharing the patterns that emerge with our readers as we continue our research. For pictures of all the ties that the President has worn since taking office, please visit the Tie Gallery.

Daily News story via Yahoo News.

President Obama made a series of appearances this week in Town Hall style meetings where he tried to win broad public support for his ailing economic stimulus plan. Because, like fairies, stimulus plans can only survive if you believe in them. It’s Neverlandian democracy in action.

Obama’s only other recourse for stimulating the stimulus is to either send out massive amounts of spam or to showcase a new series of presidential neck ties. This week, the President donned three ties that had never before graced the White House, which stands in severe contrast to last week’s unprecedented tie reuse, and could indicate that he is willing to burn more political capital on the recovery legislation than his opponents thought.

Thursday also marked the first time that the President has worn a tie with stripes that have a “negative” slope (a.k.a. “American striped”), a move that’s been hailed as evidence that’s he’s disgusted with both Republicans and Democrats for their infantile posturing and ready to move on to consistent, clear communication through the latest in neck wear fashions.

UPDATE: Reanalysis of an earlier neck tie revealed that this is not in fact the first time that Obama has word the American striped tie.

White House Photo: Joyce N. Boghosian

This week, for the first time since taking office, Barack Obama began regular reuse of ties that he had already worn this term, a move which is at once being hailed as a signal that the time for negligent waste is past, and dismissed as a partisan fashion faux pas to be expected of someone who lacks real Washington leadership experience.  Some commanders-in-chief may have worn upwards of thirty ties after being in office for eighteen days, but Obama’s total stands at an environmentally aware thirteen ties. The President’s recent tie wearing schedule broke down as:

• Monday, President Obama brought “Big Blue” back to the Oval Office for the first time since his repeat Inaugural Oath with John Roberts.
• Tuesday, the President wore a previously unseen tie featuring dark blue dots on a light blue background light/dark blue stripes.
• On Wednesday, President and Mrs. Obama made their first public appearance since the Inauguration, visiting a second grade classroom in Washington, D.C. (pictured above).  In order to instill the value of reducing, reusing, and recycling in the future voters, Obama chose to re-wear the tie that he wore in his first weekly address.
• Thursday the President broke out a new necktie while appearing with Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.
• Finally, today (Friday) the President reused the tie that he wore when he first started pushing his economic stimulus plan on Congress.

Some presidential neck wear analysts have speculated that this pattern could foreshadow a push for legislation governing responsible neck wear reuse.

To browse photos of all thirteen ties that the President has worn since taking office, visit the Tie Gallery.

Behind every statistic there’s a story. Many Americans have seen their lives turned upside down. Families have been forced to make painful choices… Last year Congress passed a plan to rescue the financial system. While the package helped avoid a financial collapse, many are frustrated by the results — and rightfully so… Banks have been extended a hand, but homeowners, students, and small businesses that need loans have been left to fend on their own.

And adding to this outrage, we learned this week that even as they petitioned for taxpayer assistance, Wall Street firms shamefully paid out nearly $20 billion in bonuses for 2008. While I’m committed to doing what it takes to maintain the flow of credit, the American people will not excuse or tolerate such arrogance and greed. The road to recovery demands that we all act responsibly, from Main Street to Washington to Wall Street…

Rarely in history has our country faced economic problems as devastating as this crisis. But the strength of the American people compels us to come together. The road ahead will be long, but I promise you that every day that I go to work in the Oval Office I carry with me your stories, and my administration is dedicated to alleviating your struggles and advancing your dreams.

Emphasis mine.

The post was made on the White House Blog just before 5AM Saturday morning (although it was pre-recorded Friday night). Listeners often compare the President and his genuine telling of the American Story to FDR and his fireside chats. These addresses let us know that the President can not only empathize with us, but also give the public clear indicators of who is a hero, and who is a villain. Words like shameful, arrogant, and greed leave little doubt as to who the bad guys are.  And nothing says “hero” to the American people like “committed to doing what it takes”. Also, pictures like this help:

Original Photo Credit: Reuters/Jason Reed

Obama is pictured above just before signing the Middle Class Working Families Task Force executive order in the White House on Friday.  This marks the first time that Obama has worn a tie with alternating single/double stripes since he took office, and the weave of striped patterns represents his innate ability to weave together character, setting, plot, and conflict in addresses to the nation.  He demonstrates a tangible propensity to communicate the American Story to the people who need to know it the most (those living it).

Original Photo Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing

While on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Barack Obama made a stop with congressional Representatives to push his economic stimulus plan. His choice of a solid, shiny, and red tie is meant to convey the urgency of the brutal economic storm that the United States will face if Congress doesn’t act quicker than the Cookie Monster going after the last Oreo on a desert island.  This is the second time President Obama has worn a solid red tie since taking office (he wore an additional patterned red tie for his inauguration). We expect that red will (perhaps unsurprisingly) be the color of urgency for this term, which is the first area where the Obama has chosen to follow the lead of the previous administration.  Analysts expect the Department of Homeland Security to release an official Obama Executive Tie Threat Advisory Indicator soon.

Original Photo Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing

Barack Obama spent the larger portion of Thursday undoing executive orders put in place my the Bush administration.  The dimple’s a bit out of alignment on this solid burgundy tie – President Obama was clearly in a rush to start reversing every act President Bush took in his two terms.  Again, we see that Obama chooses a red tie when he’s calling attention to the activities of his Predecessor.

Orders of interest coming out this week include:

• Guantanamo Bay must be closed within a year.
• The U.S. Army Field Manual is now the official standard for interrogation for all U.S. personnel; it prohibits waterboarding as well as threats, coercion, and physical abuse.
• Anyone in the White House who currently makes more than $100k is getting a pay freeze.
• Executive branch employees are now prohibited from taking gifts from lobbyists.
• Executive branch employees may now only be hired based on qualifications, competence, and experience, as opposed to political connections.
• Other officials besides the President can no longer claim executive privilege to keep executive-branch documents sealed. In particular, presidential pets and Dick Cheney may no longer claim that their communications are protected by separation of powers.

(more details on the orders can be found here and here)

While it was not expanded in an official executive order, Obama has informally rejected the Bush Doctrine Jacket Regulation, which required the President to be wearing a full suit at all times in the white house.  At Neck of State, this comes as no surprise.  No jacket means that the President’s neck wear will always be in unobstructed sight for photographers, the secret service, and the public.  The president has created an atmosphere of total transparency in both government and ties.

Update: President Obama also destroyed the Global Gag Rule.