Culture shock: Obama in shirt sleeves

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- No suit jacket in the Oval Office is just one example of how U.S. President Barack Obama is departing from Bush administration formality, observers say.

So is allowing "business casual" dress on weekends, with Obama himself showing up for a briefing Saturday dressed in slacks and a gray sweater over a white buttoned-down shirt, The New York Times reported.

Veterans of the George W. Bush White House say they're shocked at the difference, the Times said.

"I'll never forget going to work on a Saturday morning, getting called down to the Oval Office because there was something (Bush) was mad about," former Bush counselor Dan Bartlett told the newspaper.

"I had on khakis and a buttoned-down shirt, and I had to stand by the door and get chewed out for about 15 minutes. He wouldn't even let me cross the threshold," Bartlett said.

Having a midweek cocktail party, as Obama did for two dozen Republican and Democratic lawmakers Wednesday night, is another example of the cultural shift, the observers say.

Such an event was rare to non-existent for the Bushes, Politico reported.