So some girls wore flip-flops to the White House and older folks are offended, but that's the fashion these days. Flip-flops aren't considered automatically informal by the younger generation, particularly for women. I don't know if you've ever looked at fancy womens shoes, but they're basically flip-flops with heels already, so what's the difference? I've seen people at my work wearing sandals, but they always wear them with socks which is pretty tacky. Still, in a few years I bet sandals will become mainstream enough that "engineer attrire" will include flip-flops. Biggest downside: the air conditioners that keep the computers cold might also lead to uncomfortable feet.
Anyway, if they're good enough for Jesus, they're good enough for me.
Maybe it was a conspiracy against Bush. Remember during the presidential campaign of John Kerry, the anti-Kerry demonstrators were waving flip flops in their hands?
TF: If that were the case, an equally interesting observation would be that Dubya was too stupid to recognize the conspiracy.
... and avoid the photo-op.