Political Buttons

Merchandising has become a multimillion dollar industry. Everyone from the newest children’s cartoon to the rock star have merchandise out on the market. Toys and posters and other kinds of memorabilia flood the stores and people’s homes. Some memorabilia has become very valuable. One example of that would be the political buttons of elections past.
The idea of campaign buttons originated with George Washington and his supporters wearing cloth tags on their clothing saying “Long live the President” The first election to use buttons on a large scale was the 1896 campaign between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan.
In the campaigns of today’s politicians, merchandise has taken on a new level. There are now Barack Obama and John McCain action figures. These little candidates sell for about $12 in the Quinnipiac University bookstore, but from the looks of the shelves, they are not a hot item. Those who would think of buying them are for a joke purpose. Melissa Hebert, junior broadcast journalism major, said she would not buy one to show support for her chosen candidate because it seems silly to have an Obama action figure.
When asked about whether a button or a action figure would be a better choice, Caley Spaulding, junior physical therapy major said “I would want a button. A button can be worn on your jacket and it’s easy. What am I going to do with an action figure? Stick it out of the back of my pocket?”
Maybe Obama and McCain should take a page out of Washington’s book.