The Ugly Americans

The first family and their entourage.
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In the 1958 novel, The Ugly American, a Burmese journalist says "For some reason, the people I meet in my country are not the same as the ones I knew in the United States. A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They're loud and ostentatious." - The Ugly American, by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer.

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Can't say that about the Obama's, they just show up badly dressed - every where... jus' ordinary folk. They obviously do not isolate socially either - or do they? Is every State trip going to be a family affair in this Administration? No doubt dressing inappropriately is not pretentious - but is it arrogance? Could be - 'we are the first family - this is how we are'. I don't care if it's summer and really hot in Rome, a t-shirt and little shorts is pretty much street urchin dress - and who's the guy looking like a gangsta in the gym clothes? I know, probably Secret Service - it's still street life.

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Shelley can carry all the $6000 handbags she wants - she has no class. People may think my assessment harsh or unfair, but this family is representing the American people when they go abroad. When you are working you should dress appropriately - if not modestly - even when you are 10. These trips are not State funded vacations - or are they?

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Photo source.