HILLARY CHANGES

Having Hillary Clinton and all the other presidential candidates in my face the last couple nights has been riveting.

I'm a little on the defensive going into this blog entry, though. It's not sexist and I don't mean it to be, but one has to mention the style (and any obvious or hidden meanings) of our first serious (we can't forget Shirley Chisholm) female presidential candidate. To avoid any mean labels or attacks and just to do the right thing, any critic of the former first lady's style should endeavor to be an Even Steven and scrutinize the guys, too.
 
From here on I will keep tabs on what John McCain pulls out of the closet. An early note to John: No one ever got hurt (dirty, maybe, but not hurt) by taking the low road. Campaigning in Army fatigues, the very ones you wore in the Vietnam War if you still have them, would be ideal—beyond breathtaking, actually. I mean, why not? Much more visual, YouTube-ish and sure-to-make-the-late-news than the standard red tie and Oxford blue shirt.
 
John Edwards was just right. Not too lawyerly or aw-shucks-my-Dad. But it's fair to say he will be checking for hidden cameras every time he combs his hair.
 
I liked Hillary's choice of separates rather than a suit for the occasion of her New Hampshire win: green jacket, black pants. It went with her softer image. At close to midnight, in the softness of my gaze and the coziness of my bed, the outfit looked so on-trend, with its Puritan neckline, whimsical florals and mossy ground.... I wondered dreamily...Dries Van Noten? And drifted off.
 
The next morning, with The New York Times front page spread out on my kitchen table and illuminated by harsh sunlight, I faced reality: 1990s First Lady Fashion and further evidence that trying too hard to be safe always makes you sorry.  The missed opportunity was clear. The fuzzy, pea-green and black jacket looked like a bad tapestry. Nice shoulders, though.
 
Hillary could benefit from a tighter embrace of fashion. Like McCain, she can make it a potent weapon in her campaign by simply doing this: Change her look everyday, or at least every week. Politicians change their positions all the time, so there's plenty of precedent for this. Just do it with styles rather than promises. One need only look to Madonna to see how extraordinarily successful this strategy can be for a powerful female.
 
Knee-jerk chauvinist editors and news directors would lick it up as her strongest message yet. Headlines would scream, "Hillary Is All About Change," "Hillary Changes Again," "Hillary, Candidate of Change."
 
Where would this leave Obama?
Exactly!
 
As for Obama, who has staked out the change territory to great effect, he should stick to his present course, however rocky it becomes once Hillary launches her fashion-change offensive. As the campaign rolls on, we should not see the senator from Illinois in a white button-down shirt and paisley tie. This would not represent change.