Hi DJ,

Well it is certainly not the "look" of a Washington insider, but living as I do here in the middle of the cornbelt, I can tell you that politicians have been showing up wearing jeans at "meet and greets" in our neck of the woods for at least 20 years now.

We even see our own senators and congressmen, people like Iowa Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley or Illinois's Durbin sporting jeans and work shirts while meeting with constituents "in the fields" - or at least at local cafes and etc. (In truth, though some of these men do own farms.)

So when we see them in these places while NOT wearing three piece suits, my impression has been that they want to project an image of being "of the people" and they think the suits are off-putting. (Or else, they don't want to risk damaging their clothing by wearing stuff that doesn't fit the venue.)

Anyway, sometimes when the jeans are so new they show no signs of ever being washed, it does feel a bit like pandering, to me.

But all you have to do is Google "Obama in jeans" and you will see that a lot of ink has been spent on this topic. The press doesn't seem to like to see President Obama in what they call "mom jeans," but they say Michelle has been seen sporting some highly acceptable skinny fashion jeans.