Over the past few days I have gotten an up close and personal look at the business of this Presidential Inauguration.
Not the business of Inaugural donors or the business of Secret Service planning and logistics. No I’m talking about the real people doing business this inauguration weekend: the street vendors!
If you want anything, and I do mean anything with President Obama’s likeness on it, you can find here it on the streets of Washington D.C this weekend. Vendors both licensed and unlicensed have descended upon our nation’s capital pushing and peddling everything from Obama hats and t-shirts to presidential mini-skirts and boxer shorts! I found one brother who had a presidential mall set up on his table on Connecticut Avenue. He had Obama scarves (in multiple colors) as well as a big, luxurious President Obama blanket that you can use to keep you warm when you’re around some cold-hearted Republicans.
Now not all of the Inaugural merchandise being sold this weekend is high quality.
I saw one t-shirt being sold with a picture that looked more like Sherman Hemsley than Barack Obama!
But if you want an Obama basketball you can get it here. If you want an Obama back scratcher, you can get it here. If you ladies (or even some of you fellas) want an Obama thong, you can get that here too!
What’s more encouraging than a president who gives an immediate boost to the economy by having the unauthorized use of his image sell millions of dollars worth of products on the street?
So if you’re coming to chocolate city for the Inauguration, bring some extra cash to do some souvenir shopping. And if you run into me I’ll pour you a drink to toast our president, in my brand new Obama shot glasses, of course!
(Photo: Courtesy of Chris Paul)
