There comes a point in every presidential campaign when the candidates are closely scrutinized by a curious country with a single question: What does your necktie say about you?

Barack Obama has said he doesn’t like neckties and is frequently seen without them, even when wearing a suit. When he does wear a tie it’s usually muted, a solid pale gray or blue, or one with slim stripes. John McCain is more necktie-friendly. He wears all manner of striped ties (albeit subdued) and sometimes opts for bright colors such as yellow or orange. Since we’re going to be seeing a lot of them, we’ve rounded up some nice ties that might give the candidates a few style points:

• Starting at the higher end, Armani Collezioni’s navy tie with thin light blue stripes is natty for $140
• A more conventional striped tie from Charvet can be had in red and white stripes on a blue background ($185)
• Salvatore Ferragamo’s red, white and blue striped necktie is a little more striking
• If you’re rich, snap up the Stefani Ricci silk striped tie with a dominant red tone for $210 (pictured, right)
• A pair of ties that don’t scream American but would work for either candidate are the Armani delicate striped red tie, or Ermenegildo Zegna’s lovely Italian silk blue tie with tiny white dots
• A little more down-to-earth, pricewise, is the Calvin Klein deep red “digi square” tie for $69.50 at Dillard’s, or the blue “microbead” striped tie, also $69.50
• Also very striking and a lot less costly is Target’s Merona houndstooth blue tie for $20

Some serious but excessively patriotic ties include:

• Krisar’s American flag tie for $10
• A stars and stripes look from Sterling Apparel for $18
• Jos. A. Bank’s boldly striped tie on sale for $30

A tad wackier:

• The waving American flag tie at Wild Ties for $15 and their tie festooned with presidential portraits for $35
• Zazzle’s ties dotted with the presidential seal

We even found an Obama tie for $17 on Wild Ties, but try as we might, we could not find a John McCain tie, although there are lots of nice apparel options from his website (like a snappy navy windbreaker). We did stumble upon a tie that might tickle a gung-ho GOPer (pictured, above), and for the racier Republican, there’s one decorated with a picture of a young Sarah Palin for $30.