26 Feb 2006 Where Have You Gone, Emily Post?

Washingtonian magazine interviews Robin Givhan, the Washington Post “reporter” who made fun of John Roberts’ wife and two small children. For those who don’t remember, Mrs. Roberts and the children dressed nicely, and conservatively (traditional dresses and a suit), when appearing at the White House, with the President of the United States, when John Roberts’ first nomination to the Supreme Court was announced.

The Washingtonian piece:

But the piece that really riled readers was her essay about Supreme Court nominee John Roberts’s appearance with his family at the White House last summer when President Bush announced his nomination: “His wife and children stood before the cameras, groomed and glossy in pastel hues — like a trio of Easter eggs, a handful of Jelly Bellies, three little Necco wafers.”Children are out of bounds, readers complained. Givhan says kids are fair game “when their parents dress them as if they were props.”

Dressing well for an important occasion is simply good manners. One wonders why Robin Givhan doesn’t know this.