Monday, November 5, 2007

What does a candidate's merchandise say about them?

What the candidates sell in their online stores says a lot about the candidates, according to some dumb bitch at the New York Times.
Barack Obama is the only presidential candidate selling ribbed baby-doll T-shirts. John Edwards and Mitt Romney are the sole contenders offering "support the troops" stickers. Edwards is the one candidate hawking a button with a photograph of his spouse. Only Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd and Edwards have gay-friendly rainbow gear.
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But a closer inspection of the candidates' wares, as sold at their official online stores, offers the prospect of a peek into their characters and hoped-for constituencies. To varying degrees, most of the 16 would-be commanders in chief are hucksters, selling souvenirs to finance and promote their campaigns.
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Does it say something about Obama's perceived hunkiness and desire to excite the youth vote that he offers an extensive line of sexy women's T's?
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There are "ObamaMAMA" T-shirts ($20.08); spaghetti-strap tank tops ($15 to $17); snug shirts in pastel colors decorated with the Men's Vogue-posing senator's face ($20.08 to $25); "Property of Students for Barack Obama" T-shirts in pink, gray and white ($10); "Barack the Vote" shirts ($25), and shirts that read "Got Hope?" ($20.08 to $25).

(Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are the only candidates selling merchandise for $20.08. Ron Paul is the only candidate to price it at $17.76.)
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Giuliani, the baseball-loving former mayor of New York, is selling a black Louisville Slugger with a reproduction of his signature ($79.95), "Rudy for President" jerseys ($19.95) and baseball caps in cotton-candy colors ($19.95). Several items highlight his Italian-American heritage and his relationship with firefighters and law enforcement -- agencies he supported as mayor and became especially identified with after 9/11.
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"Union workers will not buy anything from a candidate if it doesn't have the union label printed on it," said Hemminger of Tigereye Design. "It's one of the reasons Obama hired us. We have a reputation for delivering union-made in the USA."
If you're running for office, you want to raise money for your campaign, right? What better way than to sell crap that your supporters will buy? Especially at gimmicky prices like $20.08 or $17.76. I don't think that this is really newsworthy at all, though. Much like the rest of the bullshit articles here.

Full article is from the Chicago Tribune via the New York Times.

2 comments:

CJ said...

As if the candidates have anything to do with the products being sold. I do like "Barack the Vote" though. Witty.

Jacquie said...

i like the insightful comment about the pricing structures for different candidates ($20.08 versus $17.76).

that is all.