Steven Waldman

Political Buttons and the Nastiness Gap

Thursday August 28, 2008

buttons.jpg
I've spent the last few days scrutinizing the political buttons being sold on the streets of Denver and have noticed something very odd: there are almost no anti-McCain buttons. It's almost all pro-Obama and pro-Clinton buttons. Today, I finally found one with a picture of McCain and the word, "NOPE." Not exactly scathing.

The 2004 Republican convention set records for nastiness in button-ware. There was:

Beauty and the Beast" featuring a picture of Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton.

"If They Take Our Guns How Can We Shoot Liberals?"

"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" with photos of Bush, Kerry and Hillary.

"Hollywood Acts...Like They're Un-American."

It'll be interesting to see the button gestalt next week at the Republican convention.

The most interesting theme of the unofficial Democratic buttons this year: the comparison of Obama to JFK and MLK. Though not featured in the official party buttons, the street peddlars seem to be banking on Americans wanting a new Camelot combined with a fulfillment of Martin Luther King's dreams. On the one hand, it seems more than a tad presumptuous; on the other hand, I'm touched by the paucity of attack buttons.

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Comments
Paul, seeking....
August 28, 2008 12:00 PM

Them Dems have class, maybe it is because we have defenders of the American Dream and supporters of Women's Rights as new leaders that we can afford to play fair. Or maybe it is because the majority of delegates are mothers and daughters rather than dirty old men from back rooms.

The Party has changed since the days of Mayor Daley's Father's Party.

Anonymous
August 29, 2008 11:56 PM

This guy McSame
Is quite lame.
It certainly hurts
That he’s old as dirt.

When asked a question, his mind roams
Does NOT know, how many houses he owns!
It is simply, not just a ruse
That this guy has, a really short fuse.

Want to keep troops in Iraq for 100 years?
Has this guy been up all night drinking beers?
The GOP, dug itself a hole
Picking a guy as grumpy, as Bob Dole.

The GOP, dreads the fight
When the nominee, is Bush Light.
I don’t really mean, to be so curt
But Sarah Palin, is Dan-Quayle-in-a-skirt!.

The Dems should surely, blow them away
Since Sarah is captive, of NRA.
The Dems should have, quite a feast
Running against, Beauty and the Beast.

The fans of the, Senator Hill
Won’t support the mayor of Mooseville.
McSame isn’t too far, from the hearse
Maybe he thought, he’d hired a nurse!

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