Baseball cap outlook for 2009: The audacity of hats

Political and fashion lore has it that by not wearing a hat on inauguration day, John F. Kennedy killed the haberdashery industry. From then on, American men stopped wearing hats. While JFK and his fashion-conscious wife certainly influenced American style, I suspect the growing dominance of the automobile in our culture did more to hasten the end of the hat than Jack and Jackie.

As we approach Inauguration Day 2009, there’s renewed hope for us hat fanciers. President-elect Obama has been wearing his Chicago White Sox cap regularly since the Nov. 4 election, and he wore it while campaigning. That’s commitment. It’s not reasonable to expect that he’ll be sworn in wearing a baseball cap, but one can always hope.

Barack Obama, president-elect and Chicago White Sox fan

Here’s some great exposure for a baseball cap: President-elect Barack Obama wearing a White Sox cap. See more examples of how the photo played at the Innovations in Newspapers blog.

McCain or Obama: Who looks better in a ball cap?

Ready or not, the Democratic National Convention begins in Denver on Monday, to be followed a week later by the Republican convention. There’s no doubt about the nominees: Barack Obama for the Democrats, John McCain for the GOP. Which leaves us with one serious question: which president will look better in a baseball cap?

Making their pitch to America: Obama and McCain

This is a serious issue. Whichever candidate America chooses this November will earn not only the right to govern the country, he will also have the high privilege of throwing out the first pitch when the 2009 baseball season begins.

Most likely, the president will throw out the ceremonial ball at a Washington Nationals game. While this blog is politically neutral, it’s fair to pose the question of whether McCain or Obama would look better sporting a Nationals’ cap like the one above.

Presumably, the next president will have the funds available for an authentic fitted wool cap, rather than the bargain model shown here. I bought the cap at a Wal-Mart in 2005 when the National League expanded to include the Nats.

I was delighted that the franchise brought back the classic script “W” on a red cap, identical to the model worn by the Washington Senators of my youth. Those were the hapless Senators 2.0, the franchise that became the Texas Rangers. The original Senators bolted the District of Columbia long before and became the Minnesota Twins.

I’ve searched the Internet diligently for photos of McCain and Obama wearing baseball caps, and I was surprised to find relatively few. I found shots of Obama wearing a Chicago White Sox cap and jersey, but not much else. The New York Times reports that John McCain often wears caps to protect his skin from the sun, although the photo with the story showed him wearing what appears to a cap with an American flag.

So who’s the better man to take the mound at Nationals Park for the first pitch? Let the people decide. Leave a comment with your choice – McCain or Obama.