Brimming With Bravado

JIM LEHRER: The hat thing is interesting. It’s not only a Fedora he was wearing yesterday, it was a black hat.

JAY WEAVER: Correct.

JIM LEHRER: And the one today, of course, was not only a baseball cap; it was tan, right?

JAY WEAVER: Correct.

JIM LEHRER: Yeah, yeah. And what is the significance of that, Jay, what do you think?

JAY WEAVER: Not exactly sure. I mean, the one in
Washington appeared to be one suitable for more inclement weather. It
was a Borcelina, I believe, and, of course, that’s a Fedora type hat.
The one down here almost kind of looked odd because he was wearing a
dark blue suit, so the contrast was very striking.

JAY WEAVER: Well, I think you need to stay tuned in Washington. I
think that Jack Abramoff is going to be speaking volumes up there.

Well, Jack Abramoff has certainly got our attention.

If it initially looked like Jack could simply be pigeonholed as some gangster wannabe, his decision to dress in a style traditional with his Jewish Orthodox faith as he left court in Washington on Wednesday seems to have rendered those initial characterizations as insensitive at best.

Perhaps playing off the story, Abramoff came back today with a new
headdress for his guilty plea in Florida.  As someone who, we learned
yesterday, loves to accessorize, Abramoff is also a master at the persuasion game.  Thus, they’re now speculating on The News Hour why Jack would be wearing a baseball hat.

Should somebody be subjecting this image fragment to detailed visual
analysis to make out what those letters on the cap actually spell out?

And while we’re at it, is that the tie with the GOP elephants?
(Or are they camels?  Or, maybe even some kind of Indian insignia?)

Finally, given Jack’s baseball reference, will he now become better known for his reputation as the King of the Skybox rather than simply the host of world class golf junkets?

Well, Jim is staying tuned.  And if it’s good enough for Jim….

(image: Joe Skipper/Reuters.  January 4, 2006. Miami, Florida.  Via YahooNews)