2008 was a year of ups and downs – from politics to gas prices to the economy, this year was a mercurial one for America.

In winding down this 2008 we’re taking a look back at the four main themes we saw ’round these parts, with this post serving as the first installment.  As you may have guessed, one of the main themes of this year happens to also be the catch phrase of someone who inspired most a nation to believe it: Yes we can.  And as the shirts will tell you, yes we did.

But Barack Obama wasn’t the only person determined to succeed in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds this year.  There were others out there who put their noses to the grindstone and faced their challenges with the single-minded determination of an ant travelling uphill in a flood while carrying cargo 5 times its body weight.

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton ran a campaign that had her as the Democratic front runner right up until Obama showed up in earnest.  Even when it seemed that the Obama train was running full speed ahead, she didn’t step out of the way.  When it seemed the numbers were insurmountable, she put her head down and stayed in it to win it.

And when political pundits started calling for her to drop out, Hillary ignored them with the bold determination to finish what she’d started.  Nobody was going to tell her she couldn’t win; ironically, Hillary embodied the “Yes We Can” spirit right down to her Primary Night Non-Concession Speech wherein it had been presumed that she would concede the race.  But she didn’t concede, and instead focused on the 18 million people who’d voted for her.

In the end, Yes We Can became a Well, We Tried Damn Hard for Hillary Clinton.  But that kind of grit didn’t go unnoticed by us – or the Obama camp – and so it is that Hillary, though she didn’t succeed as being the first female President of the United States, will in fact be our next Secretary of State.  So in a way, she succeeded in her mission to make it to the White House.  Yes,  she did.

Stand Up To Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer has a mission cure to cancer by funding the most cutting-edge research available.  Towards that end, SU2C partnered with an A-list celebrity lineup to produce a telethon that aired on all major networks and brought in over $100 million for cancer research.

In order to raise additional funds and help folks sport their support for a cure, Stand Up To Cancer launched an online shop carrying SU2C t-shirts, buttons, stickers and other gear.  All proceeds from the shop go towards curing cancer, thus allowing people to take part in a cure by virtue of their fashion choice.

SU2C was also the beneficiary of the “Fashion Rocks” broadcast that aired a week later.  This special brought together celebrities of sound, stage and style to celebrate fashion, music and the greater good.  An original song, “Just Stand Up,” was performed by a range of female artists – all wearing the Stand Up to Cancer t-shirt.

The Stand Up To Cancer camp believes that a cure for cancer – though a monumental task – is within reach.  Hats off to them for the “Yes, we can” spirit that dominated airwaves and reminded us all that banding together is the best way to fight the toughest battles.

T. Boone Pickens

Oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens has a plan for reducing both America’s dependency on and investment in foreign oil.  That plan hinges largely on the natural energy endemic to the Great Plains – the very force of nature that partnered with earth to define the Dust Bowl, has ruined uncountable hairdos and led to countless runaway kites…

Yep.  Wind.

The plan is, appropriately, called The Pickens Plan.  With American dependency on foreign oil having increased from 24% to 70% in the last 40 years, the plan goal is to lower that amount by at least 1/3.  Pickens calls the United States the “Saudi Arabia of wind power,” and notes that moving into wind will not only reduce our foreign energy investment,  but also revitalize the American Midwest with a new energy business.  While wind is the cornerstone of the Pickens Plan, it also calls for natural gas to be used in the trucking industry, as well as for a more concerted focus on solar and biofuels for the everyman consumer.

Pickens will also remind Americans not to get complacent with the recent fall in gas prices, noting that OPEC has spent the past several decades lowering oil prices whenever America gets serious about alternative energy.  To help their supporters spread the word about their vision, they have a Pickens Plan shop with merchandise available at cost.

Coming up with alternative energy solutions that plan to change the way that Americans live their everyday lives – as well as the American and global economies – may seem like a Herculean challenge, but T. Boone Pickens has a plan and he’s moving full-steam ahead.  Pickens seems to be running on the clean energy of sheer will, determination and the “Deliver a plan, plan to deliver” adage.  This style of effort, of course, is easily summed up by three little words: “Yes we can.”

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Just when you thought you’d have to shelve your “A woman’s place is in the White House” t-shirt for the next 4-8 years, rumors have surfaced that Hillary Clinton may be Obama’s choice for Secretary of State.

While Politico reports that some members of the Obama camp are greeting this news with ambivalence at best due to having run a contentious primary campaign with a central theme of tossing out the old establishment (i.e. Billary), rumor has it that Obama himself has offered her the job.

Certainly, 18 million voters felt that it was high time for Hillary to take a position in the White House; and with over half a million Hillary products reflecting that sentiment, the appointment would allow Hillary fans to pull a lot of those Hillary t-shirts out from under their anti-Bush t-shirt collection and wear them with pride.

Of course, technically the Secretary of State doesn’t actually live or work in the White House.  But these are t-shirts, and some artistic license is allowed.  Anyway, the State Department’s just down the street, and with Condi’s shoe collection it’s possible that Hillary may find a walk-in closet even nicer than the one in the White House.

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1.2 million products and almost 18 million votes later, the Democratic party has its Presidential candidate.

Hillary Clinton has come under some fire for not dropping out before this point; some CafePress Shopkeepers have gone so far as to create merchandise around it, though speculation is that Hillary will lend her support to Obama on Saturday. Then again, speculation was that Hillary would concede on Tuesday…

What we do know: election sales exploded Wednesday once the delegate count was surpassed and Obama was… well, officially named the presumptive Democratic nominee… (say that 3 times fast). We also noted that Clinton/Obama merchandise seems to be on an upswing.

Judging from the merchandise, Clinton is the most popular choice for a running mate for Obama. Then again, she hasn’t yet officially conceded the race and it’s only been a few days since he surpassed the delegate count, so we’ll know more about the trends in the coming weeks.

One thing is for certain: this election has spawned some of the most creative political gear we’ve ever seen. The Obama designs in particular tend to run the gamut – from traditional red, white and blue to much less traditional, hip and funny obama gear.

The 2004 election saw Howard Dean as the standout candidate using the internet to create a groundswell (and we have the retro T’s to prove it); this election, everyone went online and utilized the internet to mobilize fans, provide interactive experiences and otherwise engage voters.

Web 2.0 has become more of a factor in this election; Internet users are more accustomed to providing their own thoughts and content to the public discourse online, and nowhere is that more evident than in the CafePress catalogue. Whereas the 2004 election saw more singular anti-Bush messaging and the rise of some destination sites (i.e. JibJab) with fantastic content that spoke to the people, this election has seen a trend towards people voicing their own individual opinions – through blogs, online commentary and – of course – through the almighty t-shirt.

This election has, more than ever, brought the t-shirt to the forefront as a sort of microblog. Anecdotally, I myself live right next door to Berkeley – the arguable genesis of bumper sticker activism. In 2004, it was fairly common to see anti-bush stickers on cars out and about in the neighborhood; what wasn’t as common was to see specific candidate support worn loud and proud in such quantities, with such variety, and of such an individualized nature.

That being said, we’re really looking forward to the General Election and all the design creativity that will come along with it.

If you have some pix of yourself in gear you created or just want to share your contribution to the public discourse via merchandise, feel free to email, upload to flickr with the “cafepresident” tag (please, avoid tag SPAM – it’s bad form) or just comment here.

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As the rivalry between the Democratic frontrunners increases it seems that the news focuses more and more on the conflict itself. Hey, if it bleeds it leads.

So I wasn’t entirely surprised to see a headline today that read like something out of “The Onion” – that headline is: “Clinton, Obama complain about complaining”

The article goes on to discuss the candidates complaining about who’s the bigger complainer.

Because our content is a reflection of the public discourse, the CafePress system up to this point has been a good indicator of political trends. The Meter has, as we suspected, been remarkably accurate.

That being the case, I decided to search for “complain” today in our system to see what comes up.  Would I find some Hillary or Obama gear at the top of the system?

Nope.

But what I did find was interesting – the top result is a “Vote” design, and there are 2 other “Vote” designs on the first page of results. And that’s really the point of all this, isn’t it? No matter how much complaining or campaigning our candidates do, at the end of the day the American people speak a lot more loudly and convincingly. And that’s by speaking with our votes.

So remember: if you want to feel good about complaining about our elected officials, be sure to register to vote.

And after that, don’t forget to make a T-shirt. Because voting is private, but your shirt lets everyone know what you think. And that’s the American way.

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