Designs for Democracy

By Helen Walters

Online marketplace CafePress reports that as of Oct. 25, some 2,776,221 individual items for sale had been tagged with the name "Barack Obama," the Democratic Presidential candidate. Meanwhile, just over 1,700,000 items had been tagged with the name of his Republican opponent, John McCain. With individuals and companies looking to celebrate or disparage one candidate or the other, contribute funds to a campaign, or simply make a quick buck, the deluge of politically themed merchandise has been impossible to ignore. Here, then, are just a few of the items that have been produced in honor of the 2008 election.