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. Tradition dictates that while selling themselves as potential presidents, candidates must also sell T-shirts, pins and gimme hats. The road to the White House is whipstitched with patriotic hues and “Made in the USA” labels. 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-becommanders in chief are hucksters, selling souvenirs to finance and promote their campaigns. The race to offer the most extensive, fashion-conscious and youthful gear is being won by Obama and Rudolph W Giuliani.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? Justin Hemminger, the political program coordinator for Tigereye Design, which supplies the promotional gear for the Obama campaign, said that much of what is for sale points to the groups a candidate hopes to win over. “They want to appeal to women, so we’ve got 25 to 30 women’s-cut shirts,” he said. “They want to appeal to younger voters, too, so there’s a lot of student specials and themes that are appealing to younger voters.” 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. Don’t fret if you aren’t Italian-American. You may still fall into one of the many other special-interest categories for which Giuliani has gear: Students for Rudy, Veterans for Rudy, Women for Rudy, Sportsmen for Rudy and the succinct, yet all-encompassing, Viva Rudy.
