Charles Dharapak / AP

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, left, and U.S. President Barack Obama, right, laugh as they brush their hair during a group photo during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Kapolei, Hawaii on Nov. 13. Also in the picture are Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, center front, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, top left, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, top center, and Mexican Economy Secretary Bruno Ferrari, top right.

Among weightier issues, Obama tackles fashion and hair at APEC

Now that Silvio Berlusconi is out of the picture, who is going to put the fun back into international diplomacy? Judging by his appearances at recent photocalls in New York City, Cannes and on Sunday in Hawaii, Barack Obama could be that man.

According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser:

At one point, Gillard swiped at her hair and made an undecipherable comment. Obama then gestured toward his own head of hair and said, “Me, too,” to laughter from the other APEC dignitaries.

A conversation between Obama and Gillard could be overheard with talk of grass skirts and coconut bras before Chilean President Sebastian Pinera Echenique asked, "Where are the Hawaiian shirts?"

Obama replied: "We are ending that tradition."

There had been some speculation that the aloha shirts were scrapped to avoid the appearance of world leaders acting frivolous during a time of economic austerity. Asked about the decision, Obama said leaders were given an aloha shirt, "And if they wanted to wear the shirt I promise you it would've been fine. But I didn't hear a lot of complaints about us breaking precedent on that one."

He said he had looked at past family photos, "and some of the garb that had appeared previously, and I thought: this may be a tradition that we might want to break."

Read more on the silliness that ensued at the 'family photo' shoot here and check out a more serious take on the conference here.

Discuss this post

Three To Do While Taking a group picture:

1. Stand straight.

2. Smile.

3. Straighten up that hair.

===========================

To endure-

A bit of wind, brought on by Mother Nature.

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    Reply#1 - Mon Nov 14, 2011 4:27 AM EST

    Back home in America families are losing everything.

    There home, jobs, and everything else.... Our leader takes another photo - op.

    United We Stand, Divided we fall.

    • 2 votes
    #1.1 - Mon Nov 14, 2011 6:18 AM EST

    @rockyroad - you should read the last line of your post, and then revise your divisive second line to reflect it.

    • 3 votes
    #1.2 - Mon Nov 14, 2011 6:26 AM EST

    Rockyroad, Hawaii IS America (duh!). AND, if we host an economic summit, don't you think that our President should be there? (duh!).

    • 3 votes
    #1.3 - Mon Nov 14, 2011 7:13 AM EST

    Some posters will look for anything to criticize. All the economic problems today resulted from years and years of abuse and corruption by politicians from other era's. By all accounts the decline started in late 2007. Obama has tried to do the best he could with what was left to him. Anyone with half a brain knows this. He may have made some errors in Judgement in office, but then no one had any experience with this, especially John McCain, by his own admission.

    • 2 votes
    #1.4 - Mon Nov 14, 2011 7:17 AM EST

    forgive rockyroad, for he is a birther looney and believes hawaii is a foreign country !

    it is you who is being divisive.

      #1.5 - Mon Nov 14, 2011 7:37 AM EST
      Reply

      Its a nice light-hearted picture :-)

      • 2 votes
      Reply#2 - Mon Nov 14, 2011 6:03 AM EST

      Agree. We need to see more of these in these tough times.

      • 1 vote
      #2.1 - Mon Nov 14, 2011 7:10 AM EST
      Reply

      Again, lousy journalism. Did they accomplish anything? What was the group hug about?

      G

      • 2 votes
      Reply#3 - Mon Nov 14, 2011 6:25 AM EST

      Who really cares?

        Reply#4 - Mon Nov 14, 2011 6:44 AM EST

        I'm glad the president has them laughing. This summit is a really big deal. In another article from this morning it looks like President Obama is taking it to the Chinese. China's unfair trade policies and currency manipulation is our biggest threat.

        • 1 vote
        Reply#5 - Mon Nov 14, 2011 7:12 AM EST
        pitloixDeleted

        We need to be careful with the Chinese, they may decide to call in all the loans the U.S. has with them. With the state of our economy, should we be telling anybody how to run theirs?

        • 1 vote
        Reply#7 - Mon Nov 14, 2011 6:32 PM EST
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