To a certain extent every national leader is in a form of costume every day of their term, but today this issue takes on a very specific meaning. Tonight, after all, thousands of children in the US and beyond will dress up like everything from Leonid Brezhnev to Ninja turtles to knock on doors and demand candy.

Michelle Obama -- image by Getty.

In 2009, the White House joined in the fun, with Michelle Obama dressing up like a cat complete with spotty ears and painted-on whiskers, but pointedly, last year she looked relatively sombre in orange sweater. This year, celebrating three days early on Friday, she opted for almost no costume at all, leaving that to her mother.

President Obama, Michelle Obama and her mother Marian Robinson at the White House Halloween party yesterday. Getty Images

It’s a telling evolution. Given the level of imagineering that now goes on in politics, you can imagine the debate that has gone on in both the West and East wings of the White House over the past two years over the question:

Does the First Family belong in costume? Or at least, here’s what I imagine:

On the Don’t Side:

• these are not exactly times the first family wants to be seen at play. They are campaigning for the jobs bill and fighting for their own jobs; looking like they take it seriously and are working all the time instead of eating candy is not a bad message to send;
  Continue reading: “The Obamas’ complex costume calculation”