We can learn a lot about the presidential campaign by comparing
what the candidates are selling — not in terms of policies but in
terms of memorabilia.
What stands out most at the Obama online store
is the volume of inventory. I stopped counting at 300 items, which
is at least twice as many as Romney is selling.
This is a consequence both of Obama’s incumbency (he’s been
selling presidential souvenirs for four years) and of the unrivaled
popularity of the Obama brand.
Both candidates have plenty of apparel, mugs, yard signs,
buttons, and bumper stickers. And there aren’t significant
differences in what the campaigns charge for similar items. Most
T-shirts, for example, sell for $30 at both stores.
Then there are the novelty items. Among the most interesting
items at Obama’s store are an organic Obama cotton T-shirt ($30),
an Obama 2012 Grill Spatula ($40), and an Obama Martini Glass set
($30). Not surprisingly, Romney isn’t peddling martini glasses, but
he does have iPhone cases ($40) — six varieties, in fact.
Obama has spent much of his first term pandering to narrow
constituencies, and that approach to politicking is reflected at
the Obama store. T-shirts can be customized by state (“Coloradans
for Obama,” etc.). And virtually every demographic group has its
own set of items. There are “¡Obama!” T-shirts, “Women for Obama”
travel kits, and even “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for
Obama” Party Packs. There are items for military vets, nurses,
environmentalists, homosexuals (including a “My Two Dads Support
Obama” baby onesie), and much more.
Pet lovers and owners seem to be a particular Obama target. The
Obama store has 12 items related to animals. Some feature the First
Dog, Bo (“I Bark for Barack”), and there’s even an “I meow for
Michelle” cat collar.
Romney doesn’t customize much. The only group he’s singled out
is the one with which he has supposedly been unable to connect:
women. There are seven items devoted to women, including a “Moms
Drive the Economy” bumper sticker and several Ann Romney items.
The Obama Store includes an entire section with items by top
fashion designers (from Vera Wang to Russell Simmons) called
“runway to win.” The Romney store, it won’t surprise you, doesn’t
feature any fashion designers.
Many of Obama’s allies regularly portray anyone who believes
Obama was not born in America as not just ignorant but also racist.
Yet, the campaign doesn’t mind making money off the birther
conspiracy. The first items one finds at the website are mugs,
pins, and bumper stickers, each with a photo of Obama’s birth
certificate, a photo of a smiling Obama and “Made in the USA” in
block lettering.
“There’s really no way to make the conspiracy about President
Obama’s birth certificate completely go away, so we might as well
laugh about it, and make sure as many people as possible are in on
the joke,” a description of the items explains.
The Obama campaign has four items touting Obamacare. One T-shirt
says “Health Reform Still a BFD,” referring to Joe Biden’s famous
response to his boss on the day the House passed Obamacare.
There are also “I Like Obamacare” T-shirts and buttons. This is
interesting because some liberal pundits have suggested the term
“Obamacare” is disrespectful to the point of being racist. If
that’s true, then what does it say about the Obama campaign that it
is trying to make money off the term?
Paul Ryan has been Romney’s running mate for only a month. Which
explains why his name or likeness appear on just a few items. His
name of course appears on the Romney-Ryan logo featured on many
items. And he is alluded to in several items that promote
“America’s Comeback Team.”
Joe Biden gets a lot more attention. At the Obama store, he
appears on many items — alone, with Obama, and with his wife,
Jill. There’s the “Cup of Joe” coffee mug with a photo of Biden’s
smiling mug and the “Joe Biden Pack,” which includes a button, can
holder, and mug (only $30!) a description of which explains that
it’s been included “by popular demand.”
In 2008, it was rumored that the Obama campaign chose to display
the words “Obama” and “Biden” vertically in the official logo
because, at a glance and when presented horizontally, “Obama-Biden”
looked a little too much like “Osama bin Laden.” Back then, the
last thing the campaign wanted was to stress the relatively unknown
candidate’s Muslim roots or his lack of foreign policy
experience.
Four years later, much has changed. The vertical presentation of
“Obama” and “Biden” still predominates, but the campaign has added
a
horizontal version.
It makes sense. Obama is now all too well known to most
Americans. And this time around the campaign would probably like
nothing more than for voters to associate “Obama-Biden” with “Osama
bin Laden,” whose assassination is Obama’s greatest first-term
accomplishment.
Many of Romney’s items include the campaign’s official slogan,
“Believe in America,” and numerous variations on the theme of
“Government didn’t build my business. I did.” Obama’s “Forward”
campaign slogan is displayed on a few items, as are slogans such as
“Great Together Obama” and “Our Health, Our Vote.”
Until Labor Day weekend, the Obama campaign was still hawking
2008 memorabilia, including a T-shirt that said “November 4, 2008:
Change Can Happen.” Those items have since then been removed, the
final vestiges of a candidate, and a campaign, from a very
different time and place.
