Kitsch Overload

by digby

I know I’m dead inside and all, but I just don’t think I can take any more of this Obama kitsch. First it was this infomercial, featuring the opening lines, “Now you can own a piece of history commemorating the day the world changed forever. His confident smile and kind eyes are an inspiration to us all…” (I particularly like the nice white family sitting around the coffee table featuring the plate, saying “I never thought this day would come,” which strikes me as more than a little bit creepy.)

Now we have this hideous junk being sold to people who probably can’t afford it:

Be among the first to have this sought-after coin collection, celebrating the most significant event in Presidential Elections since the Founding Fathers established our great country.

“The day the world changed forever…the most significant event in presidential elections since the Founding Fathers established our great country.” A bit over the top, don’t you think? This is an historic election, but I don’t think it changed the world forever.

I guess all this commercial adulation just makes me nervous. After all, it was just three years ago that we had this stuff all over the place:

President Bush is a Leader who has the courage to lead. It is political courage. It is not poll driven it is conviction driven. It is consistent and does not change because of pressure or threats of political survival. It is reconfirmed every day. It differs from combat courage in that it is thought oriented not reaction oriented. Combat courage does not necessarily translate into political courage. Combat courage is admirable and you only know if you have it when you are in combat. President Bush has demonstrated that he has political courage and this is why he was re-elected. By owning a bust of President Bush, Commander in Chief you will be making a statement and in a politically charged environment, it takes courage.

I’m not generally a superstitious person, but I could be easily convinced that the more presidential kitsch the worse the backlash.

And anyway, as some friends pointed out to me yesterday, if the president’s image is going to be a commodity, shouldn’t the taxpayers get the money? If Elvis’s heirs get a percentage of every set of salt and pepper shakers sold with his picture on them, shouldn’t the treasury get a piece of presidential knick knacks?

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