Just imagine how different today’s proceedings would be if we’d elected that French-looking liberal instead of a down-to-Earth dude like Dubya.

Amid all the patriotic pomp, military might, warbling celebrities and high-tech security on display here this inaugural week will be something less intangible called “the Bush style.”

“The Bushes definitely have one,” said longtime Women’s Wear Daily and W magazine Washington correspondent Susan Watters. Yet they’ve maintained one of the least social profiles of recent presidents and guarded their privacy religiously - behavior some here have criticized as un-Texan.

“I think he’s Texan,” said Watters, comparing George W. with his more Eastern Establishment father, former President George H. W. Bush.
[. . .]
Dallas-based fashion consultant Jan Strimple, longtime Bob Mackie model and author of the fashion advice column, “Ask Jan,” has a different word for the Bush style seldom associated with Texas: “Understated.”

Apparently “understated” is now synonymous with “extravagant” and “gaudy” :

The Texas State Society’s gala Wednesday is the first and arguably the most unconventional bash of inaugural week — at least in fashion terms.

It’s the only party in town where guests are not just encouraged but expected to pair elegant chiffon couture from the racks of top designers like Lela Rose and Badgley Mischka with down-home duds like Stetson hats and Tony Lamas kicks.

Whether it’s a giant silver belt buckle hanging from tuxedo trousers or a broken-in pair of cowboy boots peeking from under a sequined gown, anything seems to go — as long as it has a Lone Star State flair.

This year, first lady Laura Bush chose a raspberry silk taffeta Carolina Herrera ensemble with a Western touch — a full skirt and bodice resembling a button-down shirt — for her home state’s ball.

Four years ago at his first inauguration, the tuxedo-clad President Bush sported custom-made black leather and suede footwear embroidered with his initials and the presidential seal.

You can find more examples of the “understated” style of the Bush family on the first lady’s website.

I have little problem with rich assholes acting like rich assholes, but I’m tired of the double standard at play here. John Kerry spent the whole campaign fighting off accusations that he was an liberal elitist, yet George Bush is a spoiled rich kid from one of the nation’s most powerful political dynasties who’s never had to work hard for anything. Where are the pundits to complain that the Bush family’s extravagance makes them “effete” or “out of touch” with the American people?