Mainstream pundits and fashion editors have recently weighed in on the hot topic of Marco Rubio’s stylish boots — or “high-heeled booties,” as Fit News described them in a piece pondering whether they were Cuban or European. Elle magazine chided that “Rubio is perhaps more discerning about footwear than he is about foreign policy,” but they nonetheless gave him “Kisses!” and praised him for looking “fabulous.”
Vanity Fair headlined a piece “How Much Do Marco Rubio’s Boots Cost?” If a great deal, perhaps it will at last prove that Rubio’s reckless spending should bar him from the presidency. After all, he irresponsibly raided his retirement account of the vast sum of $68K in order to replace some home appliances and help fund his kids’ education. Take that, Bill and Hillary of the half-million speaking fees and the multiple homes! But perhaps Rubio is taking a cue from Michelle Obama, who wore $540 Lanvin sneakers to put in an appearance at a food bank. As Michelle goes, so goes the White House? Vanity Fair did the laborious research and came up with a cost estimate: Rubio might’ve spent $85 at Zappos. Or perhaps — metrosexual spendthrift that the media wish him to be — he slapped down $1,990 for Tom Ford boots that provide him an extra inch and three-quarters in height.
I, for one, am thrilled to see Rubio’s footwear make the pages of Elle and the New York Times. It’s high time conservatives (yes, Rubio is a conservative) invade the heights of pop culture. Colleagues know that my working theory of the 2012 election is that if Paul Ryan had shown off his ripped muscles a little more, he might’ve nudged Romney over the top. We are creatures of nature, and plumage matters. As a nation, we no doubt spend more money on fashion, and writers expend more words on fashion, than all the money and analysis combined in all the think tanks across the land. If Elle is any sign, Rubio and his hot boots are White House–bound.