John McCain stunned the nation yesterday when he requested that Obama agree to postpone the Presidential debates in order to work on the economic crisis.

Critics of McCain were quick to claim that the Senator is using the economic crisis as an excuse to avoid being on-camera with Obama.  Whether McCain feels ill-prepared to debate Obama, is trying to prevent a Kennedy/Nixon repeat or simply wants to focus his full attention on the American economy is up for… well, debate.

But for those of you who were waiting impatiently for the Presidential debates, you’re in luck: we have our own version of The Great Debate for you.  It’s only 2 minutes long, but hey – it’s better than no debates at all, right?

The Great Debate from CafePress on Vimeo.

So for everyone out there who wants to have their own debate over the issues, just remember: an image is worth 1000 words.  (Liberals here may insert a “Just ask John McCain.”)

Big thanks to the Ditty Bops for use of their song – check out their site for more throwback music that will summon memories of an era when the thought of a televised Presidential debate was mere fantasy.

(Will history repeat itself?)

Very official song credit:

“Skinny Bones”
Performed by The Ditty Bops
Written by Abby DeWald & Amanda Barrett
Published by Ditty Bops Music, (ASCAP)
Courtesy of The Green Witch Society

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buzzcowboy note:

In the time since this post has been up, the Right Wing has added their voice to the Debate debate.  Most designs are however still pro-Obama on the issue, so if you have a strong pro-McCain or anti-Obama position on the Presidential Debates Debate do remember that your image is a great way to get your voice out there.  Here’s some newer designs:

Barack Obama is no stranger to folks making jokes and commentary about his name – particularly given that his middle name, Hussein, isn’t exactly the American standby of “John” or “Richard.”

Sarah Palin, though, has such an all-American name that one might expect it to fly under the radar.  And upon examination of the names she chose for her children, one proud American decided that, indeed, her brood has the most unconventionally American names of any VP or Presidential elect, past or present: Track, Trig, Bristol, Willow, and Piper.

With that in mind, this patriotic soul decide to bring the world the Sarah Palin Baby-name Generator, so that all of you expectant mothers and Palin fans out there can express your patriotism and choose original but 100% American names for your offspring.

There’s been some debate as to whether one should enter First, Middle, and/or Last names.  Personally, I’m of the opinion that First and Middle names are the correct names to enter into the generator.  So may I hereby be known as Muzzle Mammoth Palin.

And that brings us to Sarah Louise Heath Palin herself, who comes out as: Krinkle Bearcat Palin.  (McCain is Bang Walmart Palin – he should probably stick with G.I. John as his nickname.)

One has to wonder whether Obama might be more palatable to the Right if he went with his Palin name: Plank Castle Palin.  (Joe Biden gets the short end of the stick here, as Recoil Mush Palin.)  Hmm.

And if you’re in the mood for unusual political gear, be sure to visit the official Palin Baby Name shop.

This just in: a worrisome report from The Onion warns us that November’s election promises a dismal financial outlook due to the demise of the anti-Bush t-shirt industry.

Indeed, CafePress is mentioned as a victim of the impending doom.

And here we thought the mortgage crisis was the bad news.

Economists Warn Anti-Bush Merchandise Market Close To Collapse

While we can neither confirm nor deny the contribution amount of anti-Bush merchandise toward our revenue for the past 8 years, it does leave one to wonder what’s to become of the 1.8 million Bush products, all created by people like you.

Will there be a renewed interest in Bush products as his time in office comes to an end?  Will liberals stock up on “End of an Error” merch to remind the world that they knew better?  Or will these products simply live on aside the Dean and Kerry merch, mostly ignored but for sale in perpetuity, memories of a punchline gone by and a great gift for those who want a retro political t-shirt?

One glimmer of hope out there: Sarah Palin seems to have energized the t-shirt economy in a way that even Bush himself has failed to do of late.  While McCain hasn’t made mention of the fact that his choice of running mate was cleverly chosen to help weather the blow of the anti-Bush merch fallout, that’s most likely due to his preference to focus on long-term economic plans.

Then again, Obama merchandise has also shown great stamina, and with 2.1 million products one might suppose that, perhaps, the call for Change brings us Hope of a secure financial future, wherein Berkeley residents can cover their anachronistic “The Only Bush I Trust is My Own” bumper sticker with a newer, more positive message.

Of course, well-respecting liberal bumpers may also welcome anti-Palin stickers of the same flavor.  Indeed, perhaps President Bush’s filial epithet will unintentionally leave us all with a financial future made more secure than his 8-year tenure might suggest.

As it happens, our own CafePress meter would indicate that the combination of Obama and Palin might be enough to offset the demise of the anti-Bush merchandise economy.  So friends, don’t panic yet.  There’s still an election to be had.

That being said, we submit an entreaty to both parties for 2012:

If you’re serious about managing the fallout from the anti-Bush merchandise collapse in order to stimulate the economy, please choose your candidates wisely.  We suggest a dream ticket of Jeb Bush vs. Hillary Clinton.

And if you really want to create an explosive economic growth sector and put a dent in the National Debt, we suggest George W. and Bill as the V.P. choices, respectively.  A Bush/Bush, Clinton/Clinton ticket would enable a t-shirt throwdown that might even get Ben Bernanke out of a suit and tie.  And most certainly out of a grump.

Last week we mentioned the Great Palin Debate, as argued by the hundreds of thousands of Palin designs created by y’all.  We also mentioned that those debates don’t show any sign of going quietly, and to that end we weren’t surprised when this week’s political controversy soundbyte made its way to t-shirts, buttons and everything else fit for a lipsticked pig.  Or a pit bull.  Or a barracuda.  Or any other animal prone to wearing beauty products.

Sarah Palin recently noted that the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom is lipstick.  Not surprisingly, we immediately saw a bunch of Palin merchandise added around the pit bull/hockey mom lipstick theme.

This week, Barack Obama used a common colloquialism when characterizing McCain’s policies as no different than George W. Bush’s:

“You can put lipstick on a pig.  It’s still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It’s still going to stink after eight years.”

The GOP has accused Obama of a sexist, deliberate attack on Sarah Palin by intentionally referencing her lipstick/pit bull remark; the Obama campaign claims that the remark was the innocent use of a common colloquialism and not meant to characterize Palin as a swine of any kind, and that the GOP’s attacks are a thinly veiled attempt to stir up controversy.

John McCain himself used this phrase when describing Hillary Clinton’s health plan back in ’07.  We didn’t see an explosion of merchandise around it then, but Hillary hasn’t been exempt from the latest batch of creativity…

Interestingly, nobody seems to be objecting to Obama’s second, colorful and non-colloquial portion of that sentence on the grounds that it implies that either McCain or Bush are (a) old, (b) a fish or (c) odorous in any way.  Apparently, all animal metaphors used in political commentary are seen as applying to Palin these days.

So far we have about 4700 lipstick-on-a-pig products, most of which have to do with Sarah Palin.

So: pit bull, pig, barracuda or none of the above?  It may be time to ask the animals for their opinions; unfortunately, Ms. Piggy, Babe and Wilbur have all been mum on the matter, and barracuda aren’t known for their public speaking abilities.  I will however note that, as the owner of a few pit bulls myself, I’m not convinced that lipstick is the main differentiator between Sarah Palin and my dogs.  Then again, she may have a few feather boas hidden away of which the American populace is thus far unaware.

Some people wear their hearts on their sleeves; this election season, it’s time to wear your voice on your chest!

Today marks the launch of the “Sport Your Support” t-shirt design contest, wherein your creative voice can win you a trip to the 2008 Inauguration bash!  Other groovy prizes include a Gibson guitar and a signed Shepard Fairey print.

Rock the Vote will get a portion of the proceeds for every contest t-shirt sold, so your one-of-a-kind creation can help get other people out there to vote.

For official rules and all the fine print and other groovy instructions, please visit the Sport Your Support contest page.

And don’t worry – if you have great ideas but you’re compu-design challenged, we’ve made it easy for you with a WYSIWYG designer.  So anyone can get out there and sport your support.  Even, perhaps, those without opposable thumbs…

(Legal note: we don’t know that the Inauguration party allows the canines, so if Fido has strong opinions and can hunt and peck his way to contest victory, we suggest you take the grand prize and give him a nice steak as a consolation.)

Well, it’s official: John McCain’s choice of a running mate has energized not only political commentary, but his party’s desire for partisan t-shirts as well.  As we’ve noted, the debates about Sarah Palin show no sign of going quietly; users have been going crazy uploading Palin designs that range from the MILF brand of college humor to serious opposition from the left.

For the first time, McCain merchandise is neck and neck with Obama merchandise.  The CafePress Meter shows the trending over time – not surprisingly, the graph shows a similar trend to the USA Today Poll Tracker.

Interestingly enough, we noticed that our 6-month graph also bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain fanged fish.  Hmm.

Editor’s note: The above barracuda image is not to be confused with a trout, carp or ill-tempered sea bass.  Likewise, as per Heart’s public statement, the naming oneself after a barracuda is not to be confused as official endorsement by Heart.

Rush Limbaugh says she’s a “babe.”  Jon Stewart says that “her resume appears to be more suited for a ‘Northern Exposure’ reunion show” than for the office one step away from the Presidency.  And Fred Thompson notes that “She is the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field dress a moose … with the possible exception of Teddy Roosevelt.”

It’s worth noting that Thompson’s claim is one of the few about Sarah Palin that isn’t the subject of furious debate.

Indeed, the polemic over Sarah Palin has been going strong every since John McCain’s surprise announcement of his running mate last week, prompting a frenzy of arguments between the right and left in what’s been, already, a contentious election throughout primary season.

Whether McCain’s choice was aimed to attract disenfranchised female voters still embittered by a brutal Democratic primary, to shore up the Christian right and uber-conservatives who think he’s too liberal, to lower the average age of his ticket or to help him find suitable outerwear choices for cold winters in D.C. is up for debate.

Then again, everything’s up for debate with Sarah Palin these days, and nowhere is that more evident than on the almighty t-shirt.

Animals seem to be a common theme for Palin merch; perhaps not surprising, given that she hails from the bucolic state of Alaska.

Not to be outdone, the acronym-lovers out there were only too happy to agree with Rush Limbaugh’s assertion that Palin is an attractive candidate.  That the happy owner of VPILF.com – as Huffington post writer David Weiner noted – had the foresight to get that site up and running two months ago might lead some to wonder whether this was a truly a case of foresight or whether he was, with a perhaps misguided sense of optimism, counting on rabid Joe Lieberman groupies to storm the barn doors.

VPILF.com has official t-shirts up and going, and of course there’s lots of variations on the MILF theme for you purists out there.

It’s worth noting that we don’t have a single PILF t-shirt that’s about Hillary Clinton, though we do have a handful made for Obama.  What this means to Clinton is, again, up for debate.  However, Hillary fans can still revel in her love of the almighty pantsuit – and what a pantsuit extravaganza it’s been of late.  With that blue background, it would seem that HRC has a firm grasp of the color theory, most notably complementary colors.

In any case, one thing worth noting is that Palin herself seems to have engendered an unprecedented amount of discussion and merchandise related to her outward appearance.  This is unheard of in a presidential race (of course, we weren’t around making t-shirts for Quayle), and there’s some debate as to whether this kind of labeling and the coverage she’s received is sexist.  One of the more interesting things about these kinds of labels is that, as noted, the Republican pundits (and Cindy McCain) began lauding her external appeal as soon as her appointment was announced and seem to consider it at advantage.

But of course there’s always an answer to any possibly sexist acronym…

Whatever you want to call her, Palin herself has been labeled by right and left (and herself) alike: Hockey Mom, Military Mom, barracuda, VPILF, card-carrying NRA member, hunter, outdoorswoman, pro-lifer, Mother of Five.  As the debate rages on over her inexperience, whether she’s an anti-feminist, the clash between her stance on abstinence and the GOP’s traditional positions about unwed mothers and “traditional family values” being at odds with her inconveniently unmarried pregnant teenage daughter, and of course why McCain – who’s pointed out inexperience as Obama’s failing – would choose her in spite of her own inexperience, a steady stream of user-generated designs tell us that these debates won’t go quietly.

At 11AM on August 20th (today), Rock the Vote is going to release 100 exclusive framed prints created, signed and numbered by Shepard Fairey.

So if you’re reading this and it’s after 11AM and you really want one, get on over to the shop before they sell out.

This limited edition art – also available on t-shirts, buttons and canine couture – was designed by Shepard Fairey exclusively for Rock the Vote in an effort to rally and encourage young people (and their dogs) to show their support this election season. All proceeds go to Rock the Vote.

Shepard Fairey has long been known for taking his art to the streets; this time, he’s taking it to your interior walls for charity. So if you want a cool piece of election history that helps fund a nonprofit that encourages young people to get out there and cast a vote, now’s your chance.

He has a slogan.  He has a seal.  And now Obama has his own salute.

Some are calling it The Big-O, some are calling it The Obama Salute.  And some are calling it a gang symbol, a Nazi salute or a cult phenomenon.

Other critics are comparing it to a Star Trek salute made famous in “The Way to Eden” episode.  Hmm.

Whatever you want to call it, Rick Husong’s creation is raising eyebrows and headlines this week as people from both sides of the political fence voice opinions as to how they feel about it.

As of today, supporters of the salute can go hands-free with official Obama salute t-shirts, relieving salute-happy California drivers everywhere.  And if you like to keep your salutations private, you can always start a thongversation.

I spoke with the salute creator today, and he explained that he created the symbol out of a desire to do something inspirational because this is a “moving time in history,” and that after the last 8 “despicable” years he feels that it’s high time that America is inspired by politics.  He also, for the record, has not seen “The Way to Eden.”  But perhaps he might watch it now…

One interesting point in the debate behind the salute is that this kind of debate didn’t arise with Nixon’s double-handed V, Phil Jackson’s trademarked “threepeat,” or even George W. Bush’s prong-fingered inaugural contribution to the custom salute.

(Well, not this debate specifically, i.e. the debate of gangs and cults and Hitler and Star Trek.  Apparently the Norwegians misinterpreted the Bush salute as a nod to Satan, but hey.  That’s Norway.  Norway has, however, thus far not commented upon the Obama salute.)

Coincidentally, we do publish official Star Trek scripts.  So out of curiosity I took a look at the “The Way to Eden” script today to determine whether the salute in question was specified by the writers, and whether the Big-O might be one in the same.

It seems that this episode is about a bunch of space hippies cruising around the galaxy.  It would also seem that the symbol in question means “One,” which is interesting given that the script seems to call for an egg shape rather than an “O.”

Indeed, the Big-O may have been more appropriate for this episode than the actual symbol demonstrated.  And Leonard Nimoy seems to have taken some artistic liberties with an egg shape, unless Vulcan eggs are in fact triangular.  Hmm.

So: pop culture phenomenon?  Inspired contribution to political history?  Worrying evidence of despotism, a cult following or gang mentality?  Or a sign that Obama’s popularity reaches beyond our atmosphere and into the realm of intergalactic hippies?

That, readers, is for you to decide.  And some good homework to do on the matter is reading some “Star Trek.“  Or, if you prefer…

Barack Obama raised some eyebrows recently when he unveiled a campaign seal that seems to be a derivative of the Presidential seal. The Obama seal contains the Latin phrase “vero possumus,” which loosely translates to “Yes we can.” As noticed by certain bloggers, this phrase might be more likely to evoke images of an opossum than it is to inspire a rally cry.

Though the story made a mere blip on the mainstream media radar, the campaign finally saw the flipside of the Internet juggernaut that it’s thus far harnessed so well. And that’s to say that the blogosphere wasn’t so quick to let this seeming error of hubris go unnoticed.

The seal underwent serious scrutiny and ridicule online (Google yields a variety of commentary); The Swamp hit the streets to interview locals about their thoughts on the seal. (That video is here.)

The seal was subsequently dropped and has been written off by the campaign as a “one time thing for a one time event.”

Here’s the thing, though: the people don’t seem to be ready to let this go as a one-time thing. Which is to say that we’ve seen a variety of derivations on the Obama seal, all created by y’all. And so we say: why make this a one-time thing? If at first you don’t succeed, try try again… or let the people try for you.

In any case, here’s some of our favorites:

If you’ve come up with your own groovy seal, feel free to share it. For my part I’m wondering if I need to come up with my own buzzcowboy seal. Hmm.