WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:02.279 I'm JAPISPINNI glrad you with us in this third in 2 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:06.320 hour of today's program. We've been trying to squeeze an 3 00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:08.560 eighty pounds show into a forty pound bag. 4 00:00:08.599 --> 00:00:10.359 We're getting it in there. 5 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:13.679 Let's see we can squeeze in two more conversations in 6 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:16.039 this hour. On the backside of this hour, actor and 7 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:20.280 musician Michael v. Epps aka Mikey talks about the end 8 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:23.359 of the highly acclaimed series The Shy where he played 9 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:26.239 Jake Taylor. So we'll talk to Michael Vipps about the 10 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:29.280 shot speaking of Curtis Mayfield in the city of Chicago. 11 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:31.879 A nice little I like that. That was nice, Miles, 12 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:34.640 very nice. So we'll talk about that on the backside 13 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:37.600 of there. In a moment, we'll be joined by Lynn Sweet, 14 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:41.759 former Washington d c Bual chief and now special correspondent 15 00:00:41.799 --> 00:00:45.600 for the Chicago Sun Times. Let her explain how her 16 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:49.280 lighthearted search for President Obama's tan suit as we opened 17 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:52.960 a serious debate about the consequential effect of that twenty 18 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:57.200 fourteen press comments where he donned that haberdasury and was 19 00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:01.000 talking about foreign policy in how all of the impacts 20 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:04.079 his foreign policy legacy all these years later amazing what 21 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:04.760 a suit can do. 22 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:07.000 If you saw many of you did. 23 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:09.560 You watched the opening of the Obama I guess it's 24 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:11.319 not a library Presidential Center. 25 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:12.040 I guess they call it. 26 00:01:12.680 --> 00:01:14.959 If you saw the opening of that carried by sea, 27 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:20.680 spanning other networks, then you saw the jokes being made 28 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:21.519 about the tan suit. 29 00:01:21.519 --> 00:01:22.879 There are a number of people who showed up. 30 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:26.840 David Letterman, and I think David Letterman and Stephen Colbert 31 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:30.680 and the MC of the program, Obama's longtime friend all 32 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:33.560 had on tan suits. And so the tan suit jokes 33 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:36.680 were in full force on the day of the opening 34 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:39.400 of the Presidental Center. So we have still not moved 35 00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:41.760 past the jokes and the commentary about the tan suit 36 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:46.560 back in twenty fourteens. We'll let Lyn explain how she 37 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:50.920 got what her on rant was to the tan suit, 38 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:53.599 and again a discussion about his foreign policy. Before I 39 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:56.560 do any of that, here's a funny clip from Larry 40 00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:59.560 David show. It's called Life Larry in the Pursuit of Unhappiness. 41 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:03.920 Little Larry David skate here about the tan suit all 42 00:02:03.959 --> 00:02:08.879 these years later. Take a listen, Hey, you know what, 43 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:11.039 I got an idea that just might interest you. 44 00:02:11.319 --> 00:02:12.000 What's your idea. 45 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:15.360 I think you should wear the tan suit to the 46 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:16.639 press conference. 47 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:17.319 For this press conference. 48 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:21.000 Yes, why well, first of all, it's a gorgeous. 49 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:22.719 Suit, and that's why I'm taking to turn. There's a 50 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:26.479 daytime event. It's outdoors a little more casual, and this 51 00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:28.960 is casual Friday. Hi, Brian, the Boss wants to try 52 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:31.080 on the Tan suit. I do love this suit. It's 53 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:34.120 perfect casual and it's in the briefing room. Is that 54 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:38.639 the east room? Thank you? Oh it is a great suit. 55 00:02:38.680 --> 00:02:41.240 Oh boy, oh boy, I think this is the move. 56 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:43.439 I'm gonna try that. See how it looks. Oh, let's 57 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:46.680 foldle you down. You'll thank me. 58 00:02:48.919 --> 00:02:52.840 All these years later, still jokes, including Obama himself leaning 59 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:56.039 in on the Tan suit line. 60 00:02:56.080 --> 00:02:59.800 Sweet could do your voice? How are you today, Tavis? 61 00:02:59.639 --> 00:03:01.759 It's an honor to be with you today. Thanks for 62 00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:03.159 having me, my pleasure. 63 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:05.240 I've got two minutes right now to sort of set 64 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:06.919 this up, two or three minutes when we come forward. 65 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:08.479 We'll spend the rest of the half hour sort of 66 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:11.560 unpacking it. But tell me about, as I said, your 67 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:14.560 lighthearted search for this Tan suit and how that has 68 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:18.680 led to yet another serious conversation a consequential conversation about 69 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:20.080 his foreign policy. 70 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:22.840 And we could all have both in one You know, 71 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:26.759 we could all do a few things at one time, lighthearted, serious, 72 00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:30.680 in a nutshell. When I went to a press preview 73 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:33.360 on the Obama Center opening, the question came up from 74 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:35.680 a reporter to one of the executives, what do you 75 00:03:35.719 --> 00:03:38.800 wish was here that you don't have? And Michael strattonan 76 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:42.080 has said the Tan suit. And then Valerie Jarrett, the 77 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:46.199 CEO of the Obama Foundation, shocked us when she said 78 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:50.039 Obama gave it away when he was cleaning out his closet. 79 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:53.439 That was my starting point for this project. 80 00:03:54.919 --> 00:03:56.280 Tell me a bit more about the project. 81 00:03:57.879 --> 00:04:01.479 So I'm supposed to find the Tan suit. Now, as 82 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:03.759 I say, to quote myself, I could find you a 83 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:06.439 needle in a haystack tablet, but I don't even know 84 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:09.240 where the haystack is on this one. I've been in 85 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:12.719 the business one hundred years. Here, Yeah, I could find stuff, 86 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:15.120 but give me a clue here. It's like you know 87 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:17.680 which grain of sand on the beach are we're talking about. 88 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:21.439 But I also understood that sometimes in a project, the 89 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:25.120 journey is the destination. The anniversary of the Tan suit 90 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:30.040 press conferences next week August twenty eight. And it's not 91 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:34.399 just me thinking there's interest in the suit. Martin Nesbud, 92 00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:38.360 who you mentioned, even Colbert, who actually asked Obama when 93 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:41.199 he was at the museum before a show ended, wears 94 00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:45.240 the tanned suit and then lo and behold the Larry 95 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:48.879 David spoof with Obama happy to play himself in that 96 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:53.079 tan suit. And so everyone understands, I'm looking for the 97 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:57.439 real Tan suit, the Tan suit, and that HBO show 98 00:04:57.759 --> 00:04:59.879 is a replica. 99 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:02.399 So I love that Lynn Sweet is in a search 100 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:04.800 to find the real Tan suit. I'm just laughing at 101 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:08.360 the fact that the anniversary of the Tan suit is 102 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:11.120 August twenty eighth. You know what else happened on August 103 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:13.439 twenty eighth, Think about it, Think about it, think about it. 104 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:15.759 We'll talk about that though at that part when we 105 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:17.639 come forward. But of all the things that happened on 106 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:21.600 August twenty eighth in this country historic date, August twenty eight, 107 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:24.680 we're still talking about the tan suit that he wore 108 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:26.839 on August twenty eighth. That's how we do it here 109 00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:29.399 on Tavis Smile does Indeed, with Lynn Sweet, former a 110 00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:31.800 DC Real chief now I'm a special corresponding for Chicago 111 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:35.560 Sun Times. She's been on a project. She is trying 112 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:39.120 to find that tan suit that Barack Obama wore back 113 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:43.600 in twenty fourteen at a press conference when the Obama 114 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:45.240 Center opened. There were all kind of jokes about the 115 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:46.759 tan suit. We just played a clip for you in 116 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:49.720 case you tuned in you missed it. Obama played himself 117 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:53.279 in a clip a spoof on Larry David's show Life 118 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:56.240 Larry in the Pursuit of Unhappiness, Obama shows up playing 119 00:05:56.279 --> 00:05:59.040 himself in a joke about the tan suit. You heard 120 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:02.079 Lynn Sweet say that next week, August twenty eighth is 121 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:06.600 the anniversary of Obama wearing the tan suit in twenty fourteen. 122 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:09.879 But the minute she said that, you know, being a 123 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:12.720 history buff, my mind went to that same date. Here's 124 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:14.639 what else happened on August twenty eighth, and I'll get 125 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:18.879 back to Lynn. In nineteen fifty five, they killed Emmitt 126 00:06:18.959 --> 00:06:20.759 Till on August twenty. 127 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:21.639 Eighth, Oh my god. 128 00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:25.560 In nineteen sixty three, the March on Washington. I have 129 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:26.079 a dream. 130 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.160 The speech from Doctor King happens on August twenty eight. 131 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:33.000 On August twenty eight, two thousand and eight. 132 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:33.839 I was there. 133 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:37.040 Barack Obama accepts the nomination for President of the United 134 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:40.879 States at the Democratic Convention in Denver. That was August 135 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:43.360 twenty eight, two thousand and eight. Then he wears the 136 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:48.199 Tan suit on August twenty eight, twenty fourteen. Before I 137 00:06:48.279 --> 00:06:49.800 go any further, Lynn, what do you make of that 138 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:51.160 history on August twenty eighth? 139 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:56.079 Oh whoa, thank you for reminding me, because I'm going 140 00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:58.800 to do another I have some other stories to do 141 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:02.879 and I will that will run on the twenty seventh 142 00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:07.240 or twenty eight. And Tavis, I am grateful that you 143 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:10.800 told me that, and certainly, being a Chicago reporter, I 144 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:13.920 well know the story of Emmett Till. Oh yeah, and 145 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:18.040 the great effort now to keep Emmett Till's story alive 146 00:07:18.120 --> 00:07:21.959 with the establishment of a National Historic Park in the 147 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:26.800 city and other ways of making his history a living 148 00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:30.240 a living history for the people who are alive now. 149 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:32.720 So no, but thank you. I was there too in 150 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:34.040 Denver in two thousand and eight. 151 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:38.160 Oh yeah, A lot happened on that date, August twenty eighth, 152 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:41.519 and so when LeAnn reminded me that next week is 153 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:42.720 the anniversary of the Tan suit. 154 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:43.920 My mind immediately went to all. 155 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:46.319 The historic things that happened on that particular date. So 156 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:48.519 there's that take it and run with it as you will. 157 00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:50.439 So let me get back to your search for the 158 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:53.560 Tan suit. So when Valuidjera says the President gave the 159 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:56.560 suit away, I assume we believe that Validera was being 160 00:07:56.600 --> 00:07:59.480 truthful about that. So what does your search take you? Like, 161 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:01.759 where do you begin trying to locate the Tan suit. 162 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:03.199 So so. 163 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:07.000 Now it turns out, by the way, that in June third, 164 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:10.639 when she briefed reporters, she knew that the replica suit 165 00:08:10.680 --> 00:08:14.199 existed for the show because they taped that HBO show 166 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:18.480 in December. But if they had the original suit, and 167 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:20.720 I'm going to be talking to people from the show 168 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:25.360 hopefully tomorrow, and if he had the original suit in 169 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:28.959 the closet, they wouldn't have had a costume designer recreate 170 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:34.480 one for the show. So I have also learned that 171 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:38.120 he gives away suits he cleans out of closet. Now, 172 00:08:38.360 --> 00:08:43.159 maybe this is a Tan suit. One Obama World insider, 173 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:45.639 and this is a hypothesis, thought he threw it away 174 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:48.200 because he didn't want to wear it again. Because if 175 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:50.799 everyone's just going to make a fuss about it, like, oh, 176 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:53.919 he wore it again today when he gave a speech 177 00:08:53.960 --> 00:08:59.679 about whatever you know, just do it. But here's what 178 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:02.399 I do know about the suit. I may not find it, 179 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:07.000 but when I don't know how a story ends, I 180 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:09.840 think it is my responsibility to tell you how his 181 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:14.080 story starts. So when I poked around, here's how the 182 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:18.840 story starts. Who made the suit a foundational question. And 183 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:21.480 it turns out that the man who made the suit 184 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:25.080 his name is Martin Greenfield. He died in twenty twenty four, 185 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:31.320 famous Taylor in Brooklyn. Martin Greenfield sewed his first stitches 186 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:37.320 as a prisoner in Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp. He 187 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:41.360 was wearing the shirt of an SS soldier. Now he 188 00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:44.279 learned to become how to really become a tailor when 189 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:47.120 he got to the United States. But this is a 190 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:51.519 story of a man who survived Aschwitz and Brukenwald, the 191 00:09:51.559 --> 00:09:55.639 worst of the Holocaust, that horror, came to the United 192 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:59.879 States and made suits not only for Obama but other presidents. 193 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:03.240 M that's a great backstory, and that's why that's why 194 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:06.440 you are an award winning columnist and writer. Now specially 195 00:10:06.440 --> 00:10:08.879 correspondent for The Sun Times. Linn knows how to tell 196 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:10.879 the story. And if you don't know how he ens, well, 197 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:13.159 if you can't find the suit, give me the backstory. 198 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:15.320 The backstory for me is this audience nose is always 199 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:16.960 the most fascinating part of any story. 200 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:19.240 Anyway, I love the backstory. Lind's I'm glad you. 201 00:10:19.480 --> 00:10:20.279 Here's another bed. 202 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:21.399 Give it to me, Give it to me. 203 00:10:21.480 --> 00:10:24.960 I'm gonna tell you everything about that suit. By the way, 204 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:28.879 listeners out there, if you're a forty long and about 205 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:35.039 thirty three waists and you're wearing a suit that has uh, 206 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:39.840 the lining is made of a fabric called Bamberg bamburger 207 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:43.639 it is. It is made out of a bamboo. It 208 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:48.120 is better than silk. So if you picked it up anywhere, 209 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:54.720 then I will, okay, then I will have to tell you, 210 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:58.120 you know, call me and maybe we could get something. Uh, 211 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:01.399 you know, we could get we could get something done. 212 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:06.440 But that is just another backstory to know about this. 213 00:11:06.679 --> 00:11:09.759 So I can see because of the all of the 214 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:11.919 drama that surrounded his wearing that suit, and we'll get 215 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:14.039 back to the actual press conference that day and what 216 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:16.080 he was talking about it and why in fact, there 217 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:20.240 are consequential conversations to be had about that press commerce 218 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:22.759 as it relates to his foreign policy legacy. 219 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:24.080 That's what Lim was saying. Hearder, we can have some 220 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:24.799 fun with this. 221 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:26.519 But there's a serious dollog to be had about the 222 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:29.080 way his foreign policy has been critiqued born of that 223 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:31.799 press commerce that day where the world was clearly getting darker. 224 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:34.840 But we didn't talk about the press commiss We talked 225 00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:36.399 about the suit. So we'll come back at that in 226 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:39.279 a moment, I promise. But I can see the president 227 00:11:39.320 --> 00:11:42.200 perhaps giving the suit away again. He does giveaway suits. 228 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:43.919 After a while, I do the same thing, so I 229 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:46.519 can see him giving the suit away. I can see 230 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:49.240 him either actually maybe back up. He gives suits away, 231 00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:51.879 as do I. I can see him burning the suit, 232 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.120 getting rid of the suit because of all the hype 233 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:57.320 about it. But I can't imagine him giving that suit away, 234 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:03.159 particularly if if the person who has the suit knows 235 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:06.440 what it is. Now, when suits are custom made, I 236 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:09.840 know lous something something about this. Typically on the inside 237 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:12.879 of the suit there is stitched the name of the owner. 238 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:16.399 So wherever that suit is, I got money, that says 239 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:19.279 somewhere on the inside of that lining there is the 240 00:12:19.399 --> 00:12:22.240 name stitched Barack Obama present, Barack Obama. 241 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:23.279 Tell you about that? 242 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:25.320 What do you know? What do you know? 243 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:30.879 His name was there in the pocket. But it was good. 244 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:34.000 But believe me, can you imagine if you go to 245 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:37.440 some you know, secondhand, closed place and you see Barack 246 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:39.320 Obama's name in a suit, and so you know, I'm 247 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:43.840 just gonna get it altered. But here's the thing. I'm 248 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:46.559 told that when he gave away suits, his staff at 249 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:49.320 the White House or the or the either the ballet 250 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:52.559 or the house staff that worked with him, they knew 251 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:55.799 enough to cut the name out. This is without the 252 00:12:55.960 --> 00:13:00.240 famous suit. And when I talked to Jay, you know 253 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:02.840 who is the son of Martin Greenfield who made the suit, 254 00:13:03.159 --> 00:13:04.799 who was actually the guy who went to the White 255 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:08.039 House to measure him. Uh, there there was a way 256 00:13:08.840 --> 00:13:11.440 in the pocket. I think it looked like something that 257 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:15.039 you could kind of rip out with that ripping flat pocket. 258 00:13:14.840 --> 00:13:20.120 Any event, even if they no matter where his name was, 259 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:22.360 his people knew to look for it and get rid 260 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:23.720 of it. They're giving it away. 261 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:26.639 There goes that I'm figuring somebody's wearing that suit with 262 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:27.840 his name on the inside. 263 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:29.840 But I take your point. That's why lean again is 264 00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:30.679 doing the reporting on this. 265 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:33.960 I'm just look in the pocket. If anyone is listening, though, 266 00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:36.240 look in the pocket and see if it looks like 267 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:38.399 a little label might have been ripped off of it. 268 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:43.799 See now, maybe the label Greenfield is still there. And 269 00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:47.600 if there's really great hand stitching and you got it 270 00:13:47.720 --> 00:13:51.440 around the Washington area, call tabs, call me. We have 271 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:55.559 a special email, you know, email me at tan suit 272 00:13:55.759 --> 00:13:59.000 one word at sometimes dot com. Even if you have 273 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:02.080 some ideas what this suit means to you, what it 274 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:05.120 meant in twenty fourteen, what it means now. Also you 275 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:08.519 could read the stories and stuff that's coming up at 276 00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:14.240 sometimes dot com slash tan suit. Let me repeat that, 277 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:19.720 may I sometimes dot com slash tan suit. 278 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:22.080 What would it mean for you? I mean, I'm thinking 279 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:24.240 of all the brilliant stuff Leanne. I've read your stuff 280 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:26.600 for years. I'm thinking of all the brilliant stuff you've written. 281 00:14:27.080 --> 00:14:29.519 What would it mean for you to actually find to 282 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:31.679 track this suit down at this point in your career? 283 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:36.840 Well, okay, and everyone who's listening, what Tavi is talking 284 00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:38.720 about is that I've been in this business one hundred 285 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:42.000 and fifty years and I've done all kinds of stuff. 286 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:46.559 You know, my main work has always been connecting events 287 00:14:46.600 --> 00:14:49.639 to Chicago. But I you know, I've gotten around. If 288 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:53.000 I found this thing, I would I would have to 289 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:57.279 put it in a separate bucket of professional achievement. Maybe 290 00:14:57.320 --> 00:15:02.720 not because of it, just it is the ultimate scavenger hunt. 291 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:06.120 And it is a challenge that I don't take lightly 292 00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:08.519 because you know, my boss tell me to find it, 293 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:12.879 so I have to look. I make you laugh, my 294 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:16.320 day is made. But as I say in my column, 295 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:20.000 which I hope people read it sometimes dot com slasht 296 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:23.519 hand suit, I can't say yet I haven't found it 297 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:26.240 because I haven't looked hard enough. And one of the 298 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:29.440 reasons I'm very grateful to be on this show is 299 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:32.519 I have to get the word out. Maybe somebody knows 300 00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:35.240 somebody who's something or whatever or worked in the second 301 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:38.080 handst in Washington, and they say, you know, we got 302 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:41.720 these elegant suits that were forty long and thirty three ways. 303 00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:44.200 I always wondered where they came from. Well, give me 304 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:46.120 a call, maybe we could figure this out. 305 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:49.320 Yeah, I got just about five minutes left here. Let 306 00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:51.279 me let me pivot now. Now we talked about the 307 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:55.000 suit and your search for it, this ultimate scavenger hunt. 308 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:58.399 I love that man, But here's the real backstory. 309 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:02.519 He wore this tank I remember it well as does 310 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:06.799 Lynn during a press conference about war. So part part 311 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:08.600 of the critique was it was the wrong color, but 312 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:09.879 also the wrong color. 313 00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:12.200 For that occasion. War is a serious issue. 314 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:15.039 You got this light, you know, bright summer suit on, 315 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:18.320 but you're out doing a press commerce about war. 316 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:18.840 He was. 317 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:22.080 You know, it was clear that the country was getting 318 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:26.039 to be an even scarier place. One could even argue 319 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:28.960 that his press commerce was foreshadowing the world getting more 320 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:32.080 dangerous in advance of Donald Trump coming in and again 321 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:35.759 just doing all sorts of nonsense. But none of that 322 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:39.960 got talked about then, and frankly, it hasn't even talked 323 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:42.519 about in retrospect because the focus is on the suit. 324 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:44.559 And I'm not suggesting that we can't talk about the 325 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:45.480 suit and have some fun. 326 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:45.759 With the suit. 327 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:49.440 But but but talk to me about the consequential effect 328 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:52.200 of that press conference as it relates to his foreign 329 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:53.159 policy legacy. 330 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:58.960 Well, just talk about traumatic for shuttering. He talked about Ukraine, yep, 331 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:02.720 touch about Iraq, talked about isis you know, trying to 332 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:07.920 even back then in twenty fourteen, there were issues with 333 00:17:08.119 --> 00:17:12.759 Ukraine and Russian aggression. Now, so what happened in Ukraine 334 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:17.519 wasn't a surprise, but it also shows if we're kind 335 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:20.519 of looking at the arc of history here, it's an arc. 336 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:25.400 So the president also, as far as I know in 337 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:28.920 my reporting and I'm triple checking, this came to work 338 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:31.960 that day in the tan suit, and the press conference 339 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:35.160 was planned at the last minute, and it was in 340 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:37.920 the briefing. It wasn't one of the real big ones 341 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:41.240 in the East Room, it wasn't in prime time. And 342 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:43.759 I hope to be talking to the former White House 343 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:47.400 Press secretary at the time and nailing this detail down. 344 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:50.799 But they just decided to do it the last minute. 345 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:56.079 And probably I'm guessing no one thought to say, President Obama, 346 00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:57.920 you ought not to wear a tan suit to a 347 00:17:57.960 --> 00:18:00.640 press conference. I also, who would have to say that 348 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:03.640 to him except for a Larry David type of character 349 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:05.039 in a comedy. 350 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:10.240 Maybe Michelle. Michelle is no shrinking violet. She ain't no snowflake. 351 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:14.920 Now. Oh and by the way, the connection to Martin 352 00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:19.000 Greenfield was made through one of Michelle Obama's fashion advisers. 353 00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:21.240 Oh, got it, got it, got it. So now you 354 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:22.759 got me thinking. This is why I love talking to 355 00:18:22.839 --> 00:18:26.240 Lynn Suite. She always makes me guess my brain working here. 356 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:29.240 So now that we know that the press comference was 357 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:32.519 not pre planned, that it came up, Yes, it came 358 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:35.240 up in the during the day, he's already in the 359 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:38.480 Oval office wearing the tanned suit. Nobody says changed clothes. 360 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:41.960 He doesn't think the change clothes. It is a nice suit. 361 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:43.880 It's tailored for the president. So it's wrong with the 362 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:46.359 suit itself. It's just the people thought the color was wrong, 363 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:48.799 the choice was wrong. But if he's already in the 364 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:51.680 office wearing the suit, and then the press commerce gets called, 365 00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:53.319 he walks to the White House briefing room and does 366 00:18:53.319 --> 00:18:55.599 what he does, and now you got an international crisis 367 00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:57.960 because of the president woor a tan suit. I wonder 368 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:00.000 if in retrospect, and I would love to ask him, 369 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:03.640 I wonder if in retrospect he wishes he had changed 370 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:04.839 suits before he. 371 00:19:04.839 --> 00:19:07.920 Went into the briefing room. He just lives upstairs. 372 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:10.640 It's just about getting on the elevator, going upstairs to 373 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:13.640 the to the private quarters, changing suits, coming back down. 374 00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:15.440 We would never have this story and I wouldn't have 375 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:17.279 had this half hour of fun talking to you. But 376 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:20.359 I wondered then if he could have done all over again, 377 00:19:20.599 --> 00:19:22.079 if he might have gone and changed that suit. 378 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:27.559 I am glad you asked that question, because when I 379 00:19:27.640 --> 00:19:31.279 talked to the former White House secretary, press secretary and 380 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:35.319 another deputy press secretary, I'm going to pose it to them. Here. 381 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:38.680 Here is my guess that Obama is all about no 382 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:41.200 drama and no fuss. And if he thought what he 383 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:44.640 was wearing would detract, yeah, and the way it did, 384 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:49.920 he I'm guessing go upstairs and change calls. He had 385 00:19:50.200 --> 00:19:55.960 many from my reporting, blue and charcoal gray suits. He 386 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:58.039 even had I think, like a gun plaid or so 387 00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:01.039 it's some kind of plaid one. So I mean, just 388 00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:04.759 think if you're making a public appearance at the last 389 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:09.440 minute and you were kind of a casual jacket and 390 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:12.079 you realize people are going to talk about that I 391 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:14.839 showed up wearing a baseball jacket to give a serious speech, 392 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:17.839 you would probably go put on a suit coat, wouldn't you. 393 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:19.519 That's what people do. 394 00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:21.039 I think about it all the time. I think about 395 00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:21.480 all the time. 396 00:20:21.559 --> 00:20:25.240 I had to go to an event yesterday and I 397 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:27.680 looked down at the shoes I was wearing. They're comfortable shoes. 398 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:30.079 I like them, but the shoes didn't fit where I 399 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:33.160 was headed. So I literally changed my shoes. Just yesterday. 400 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:35.359 My outfit was fine, but I and I'm not a 401 00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:37.960