What They're Wearing and Where They Are Wearing It: The Styles of Supporters, '08
BY Zephyr Teachout | Saturday, October 6 2007
Mike Huckabee just came out with his new "official campaign store" for pins and t-shirts, so I thought I'd look up on cafepress to find out what the most popular items were for each candidate. Cafepress allows anyone to upload designs, so the candidates do
not control what's there.
The following is a list of "bestsellers" for each candidate.
Barack Obama: I *heart* Barack Obama logo on a Ringer Tee. The heart is red. Second best-selling? 1969 meets 1983--a tan and pink bubble letter minibutton/women's tracksuit design that says, "obama for change," with a peace sign.
Ron Paul: Support Freedom Ron Paul 2008, fitted T-shirt (red on white).
Mike Huckabee: I LIKE MIKE buttons (round). Exact replica of I LIKE IKE buttons. A campaign slogan, but not the campaign design. You can get the same pattern on a top-selling teddy bear.
Mitt Romney: Mitt Romney for President 2008 bumpersticker(design copyrighted by an unrelated company whose name I can't read).
Hillary Clinton: HILLARY 2008 refrigerator magnets. Square. Flag letters, dark blue background. The second seller is a rectangle magnet, and the third is a sticker. It seems hillary supporters like refrigerators and notebooks (or whatever people put stickers on these days). There's also a top-selling hillary christmas ornament.
Fred Thompsons' supporters are the most avant garde consumers, it seems. The top seller is in lower case, a creation of "intrepid productions," a women's t-shirt with "fred thompson for president." The second is a purple bumper sticker:
FRED 08
A bullet in every terrorist,
A fist in every hippie's face.
McCain's folks are just doing what they can to stay on the road. Five of his top six sellers are completely bland bumper stickers that say, "MCCAIN PRESIDENT," "John McCain President," "McCain 08" and yes, "John McCain 08."
John Edwards' top seller is a also straightforward "John Edwards, President 2008" bumpersticker. But his top sellers are notable for the number of theme that are state specific--Nevada for Edwards, Iowa for Edwards, California for Edwards, etc, all outsell general Edwards support, including the "John is my homeboy" mousepad, in black and white.
Richardson's supporters are snatching up unringed, un-tight tees that say "Richardson for President, (c) Politicaltshirt.com." Apparently this also sells as a wall-clock.
Rudy Giuliani, like Huckabee, has a top-selling minibutton (1" diamater, # 1 inch diameter, Metal shell, Mylar/UV protecting cover), so you have to lean close. Besides that, he, like Hillary, has lots of stickers. And a topselling cap.
All told, what they are wearing is not here--its far more diverse. There are over 100,000 designs made by people entirely outside the campaign, and this alone is a good sign of an irreverent, involved democracy.
Or, as my bumper might say,
A hippie in every terrorists face,
A campaign tchochke designer in every town.
And to pitch in myself on the citizen campaign 08, I even drew some pictures for the fashion show.