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Lehane

Three Still Standing

What an election cycle this is proving to be: one candidate may be too old, one may be too inexperienced and the third is a woman! What is a poor voter to do??

Many of the former candidates seem to be hoping for a slot in a new administration as their payoff for stepping aside.

We haven't been very active in this blog recently -- residing in the great state of Florida where elections are perverted processes may be partly to blame or at least it makes an excuse.

This is a good time to get purchase election tee-shirts, stickers, and other cool items, after all there is now a 1/3 chance your candidate will win the big prize. We pulled together some great gear for the candidates which is carried by Zazzle.com.

Zazzle's election center 2008

Iowa!

What did we do to get such a convoluted candidate selection process?? If approximately 100,00 Iowans attend their caucuses and candidates each may have spent millions of dollars. That is quite a cost per vote!

Can we end this primary madness before the next presidential campaign and try something more representative, less overwhelming for the candidates, less expensive and more likely to pick a great leader???

Remember, this week may be the beginning of the end for some candidates and their gear will start to become collectibles.

Mac the Observer

Hot Candidates

Which candidates in the presidential sweepstakes are generating most interest? There are those the pollsters say lead in Iowa and New Hampshire which may differ from the polls of the entire country. The the news outlets amplify whatever the meaning of those particular results. But can you believe what you see and hear??

Our internet tracking based on searches for bumperstickers, hats, buttons and t-shirts shows interest in only three candidates. Hillary Clinton, Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani. Interest in Hillary is many times more than the combined interest in Fred and Rudy. Interest as expressed in purchasing a product to support one candidate is all Hillary. We believe that the results based only on clicking on a candidate's products, without a purchase, are not trustworthy. In some instances the same individuals clicked hundreds of times on their candidate to create to appearance that many people were interested in that person. Click fraud is one word for that.

Al Gore's followers seem to understand that he is no longer interested in running and there is little activity to report for him.

If you want to purchase candidate buttons, bumper stickers, hats, t-shirts, bags and more -- see www.CandidateStuff.com. And remember, some of these items may become sought-after collectibles in time!

Mac the Obsercer

Is Joe Biden Standing Up for Iraq?

Joe Biden is voicing a different message than the other democratic candidates for president. He has indicated his support for strengthening the regional governing powers in Iraq and incorporating them under a national federation as a means to quell the ethnic strife. Is this what is needed to make progress in Iraq? Perhaps trying something different is a good idea!

Mac the Observer

Do We Care Enough to Find the Best?

Summer has only hours remaining and the leaves are preparing for winter. Who are voters watching? Most interest we have seen is centering on Hillary Clinton and Fred Thompson with people purchasing hats and bumper stickers for each of the hopefuls.

Although the slate of potential contenders is impressive, there is also an incredible list of negatives attached to most of them. Does anyone really think Fred has the stamina and interest to be president? Will Hillary Clinton ever be able to convince those who hate her to come together? Can Rudy run on security while those who worked for him in NYC complain about his leadership? Is Obama that unaware of his inexperience? What about John McCain's stubborn attitude toward the war? Perhaps it is time to look at some of the less-prominent candidates. Bloomberg has removed himself from the fray but could be a powerful candidate, as could Chuck Hagel or Bill Richardson. One thing is certain: the problems facing the next president will be massive, the available funds limited, international goodwill bruised, but the challenges will surely provide opportunity for someone to carve out a substantial reputation. Who we select will probably shape our country and the world for decades to come. Is the electorate so discouraged and disenfranchised with politics at this point to really care? That is the biggest worry here. Can we be serious and pick a president who will be capable of at least some of what is needed?

Show your support of a candidate with hats, t-shirts, bumper stickers and more at CANDIDATESTUFF.com

Mac the Observer

Recent Candidate Activity

Perhaps the political scene is seeping in to the public awareness now that labor day has passed and Fred Thompson has jumped in to the water. We have seem much interest recently in Fred and in Hillary and their supports are purchasing hats from candidatestuff.com.

T-shirts and bumper stickers are not popular at this point. After the primaries they may be more visible.

Mac the Observer

Little Interest in Candidates this week

With political news somewhat on hold until the report on Iraq comes in, there is not much activity showing up on our candidate monitors. We have seen a tiny bit of interest in John McCain, Fred Thompson, John Edwards, Al Gore and John Kerry (really). It is fair to say that the interest shown in these individuals is extrememly weak, but the other candidates are not registering any interest at all this week.

It is rather interesting that many recent hits on www.canditatestuff.com are coming from a RushLimbaugh domain!

Mac the Observer

Hurricane Karl?

Now that we in the dangerous time of hurricanes, we should keep a look out for "Hurricane Karl." This "storm" has the potential to cause much damage and the cone of uncertainty includes the entire United States. We all need to prepare for the possibility of high winds, dangerous tides and a major surge.

Mac the Observer

What About Joe Biden?

We talk about the top democratic candidates in the presidential race, but there are others who are also worthy of consideration. Think about Joe Biden. In the last "debate" he came across as smart, bold, and informed. He has plenty of relevant experience and yet seems in touch with ordinary people. On the issue of Iraq he is the only person with a plan that is more articulated than just saying how many months or weeks before some or all of the troops are pulled out. Joe sees the need for partitioning Iraq. Can that be so bad? Can anything be worse than the state of Iraq now? It may be time to take a look at some of the candidates who are not in the front pages. How about looking at Mr. Biden? Here's his officical website.

One of the interesting observations I have made is that the candidates more likely to grab the attention of the public also are the ones with a large and interesting assortment of product designs. Joe Biden is right up there will the best in terms of nice designs!

If you want to grab up a hat, magnet, bumper sticker or t-shirt promoting Joe Biden, come on over to CandidateStuff. You can also find items to support many of the republican and democratic candidates for president, too.

Mac the Observer

Infrastructure? The Next Issue?

Now that a major bridge has collapsed will the presidential candidates begin to warm to the idea of promoting infrastructure as an issue? We know how they search for whatever topics will resonate with the public -- this public or that public -- they slice us up to get votes for themselves.

Who will bite this issue now that it is in the public awareness?

Interestingly we do have two senators who were very concerned about various US infrastructure needs before the tragedy. They are Chuck Hagel and Joe Biden. It may be time to add some hats for Mr. Biden over at www.candidatestuff.com. We shouldn't count these two out of the presidential race. At this time in the last presidential election cycle the "unbeatable" front runner was Howard Dean!

Mac the Observer

What's More Political than the War?

Although interest in the presidential candidates is now a bit soft, we know that the issue of the war is on the top of everyone's mind. In support of the troops, we are promoting a website offering shirts for army, navy, marine and airforce moms, dads, wives, kids, and others. currently there is a sale on most shirts for military families.

Most of the shirts are priced so you can buy three and get one free. This is the perfect time for grab up t-shirts in support of the army, navy, marines and air force. Our "Mom" shirts and "Wife" shirts as well as those naming other familiy members are quite popular. Many of the designs are made by actual military family members.

For more, see SUPPORT4MILITART.COM

Mac the Observer

Sizzling Summer

As the heat of summer increases, so too does interest in the presidential candidates. And the online activity I am monitoring shows barely a blip for Mitt Romney while all the other Republicans are even less fortunate.

The intense interest in Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama seems to have quieted. Perhaps we know as much about them as we need to know at this point. Most interest is currently being focused on, drumroll please, Al Gore! In the past week Mr. Gore has lit up the charts here. There is also a bit of activity in the Biden and Richardson camps.

And if you like to think of investing in keepsakes, perhaps this is the time to grab up a McCain button or magnet. They may become obsolete soon. As for Fred Thompson, who knows if he will or if he won't—it is far more fun and infinitely less demanding to be on the fence.

If you follow politics, have you selected a candidate? Have you actively promoted that person with a sticker, t-shirt, hat, or just a little magnet on the refrig? We offer a great selection of items for the top 11 candidates at CANDIDATESTUFF.COM. Check it out!

Mac the Observer

Republican ship sinking? or sunk?

I was planning to write a few ideas about the prospect of Micheal Bloomberg entering the presidential race. There are some interesting possibilities with the electoral votes . . . there may be a chance that Bloomberg could receive enough electoral votes to prevent a Republican or Democrat winning sufficient electoral votes to win the election without involvement of the congress.

Now that we have President Bush's commutation of Libby and most--if not all -- Republican candidates falling in line, perhaps the populace will stand up and keep their votes away from the GOP! Bloomberg may not need to insure the election results now, is the election a done deal now??

Do we ever need a change of directiom! Come on election!

Mac the Observer

Are We Getting Interesting Yet?

Well, just when the candidates were fading a bit from the news, we have a possible new candidate in Michael Bloomberg. Seems like New York is now left, right and center in the election! Now the question is "Will he run?" Heck, we don't even have more than a "maybe" from Fred Thompson.

But Michael Bloomberg adds so much intrigue and possibility to the race. Now it is getting veddy, veddy interesting! Will he take votes from his predecessor? from the democrats? from the huge middle ground?

Bloomberg, in my view, is the polar opposite of Obama. One makes things happen and the other talks about great ideas. Right now we have a scarcity of both qualities and must find some new direction.

So, if you think Bloomberg is the man, now is the time to support his candidacy with a hat or t-shirt. Check out Bloomberg's colorful hats!

Mac the Observer

Does "Haliburton" Mean Dog Days of Summer?

During the past week there hasn't been much interest in the presidential candidates as shown in my monitoring. Perhaps things will liven up when the next series of debates nears. CandidateStuff.com did have a recent visit by someone from AirAmerica which was promptly followed by a visitor from Haliburton! Are there spies following my observations?

This blog reports interest shown in particular presidential candidates, as well as the group as a whole. I track the visitors to certain websites offering many designs—on t-shirts, hats, bumper stickers, magnets and pins—for 10 of the major candidates. This week's level of interest in the candidates is the lowest in many months. The leader, for the first time, is Fred Thompson. It is not that Fred has excited people; it seems people are getting bored a bit with the news coverage of the candidates.

If the issues are not compelling enough, then do we need some new scandals to get the interest back? What about the church sex-scandal connection to a friend of Rudy? Or the fake police protecting Romney? Any more candidate affairs? Politics and elections ARE important!

Mac the Observer

Who Do You Trust with YOUR Money?

Trusting a candidate, or thinking you can trust a particular candidate, is important.

We all seek to find that candidate we can trust to support our values, encourage and lead our country and watch over our personal and national financial well being. If that is true, then perhaps those candidates deemed most trustworthy are those in whom people have invested time and money — and that translates to the trivial purchases of campaign hats, bumper stickers and pins.

People who trust a candidate may be interested in purchasing campaign items like t-shirts, bumper stickers, hats and pins to show their support. Right? If you think Mr. ABC or Ms. ABC would make a great president, why not show it by wearing a t-shirt or carrying a bag promoting their candidacy? Perhaps you can convince others to consider that candidate!

There are many visitors to www.CANDIDATE STUFF.COM each day and they can browse products for 10 of the top candidates—5 democrats and 5 republicans. Can the candidates with the most the loyal followers be the ones whose products sell best?

The top sales items support candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. People who purchase items promoting those two candidates usually buy more than one product. They may opt for three identical hats or a combination tote bag, hat and t-shirt, for example. As far as purchases go, the democrats significantly lead the republicans. Republican supporters, the few that have made product purchases, favor bumper stickers. They purchase one item.

Does this mean people trust democrats more than republicans? Does it mean we should expect higher costs? All I can say is there is much interest in Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Mac the Observer

Following the Candidates in early June

We adjusted our method of monitoring presidential candidates and the interest they generate. Once word is out that candidates are being compared, some of their followers go to any extreme to make their leader look best! One way they do that is to continually click on ads for a particular candidate. This distorts the real interest in the candidate and the poor advertisers may find themselves a bit poorer it they are paying "per click."

With our new monitoring tools, the first 5 days of June shows no surprises. Most interest centers on Obama, Hillary, Rudy and Al Gore. Interest in Al Gore is growing now that we know it is a "maybe" that he will run.

Without Rudy Giuliani interest in the Republican candidates is weak. Or perhaps no one dares to wear a hat, shirt or be seen with a Republican bumper sticker this time around even though they may support a Republican candidate.

We noticed searches for "anti-GOP" and "anti-Bush" in this data. This is new.

Fred Thompson is now in our candidate ring since being profiled in the news this past week or two. So far no one has searched our www.CandidateStuff.com for him. If you have a favorite candidate, check out the thousands of items we promote for Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Chuck Hagel, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Fred Thompson. If there is another person you want to see in the lineup, please let me know.

Mac the Observer

Fred Thompson, will he run??

Republicans seem to be on the hunt to find another Ronald Reagan and some believe Fred Thompson can play that role. For those interested in political hats, t-shirts, bumper stickers and other "Fred" gear, see CANDIDATESTUFF.com and look for the section of Fred's items. There are thousands of items!

And speaking about candidate hats and other items ... take a look at a couple of different candidate hat designs, for instance. One observation I made while working on all this election gear is that some candidates have a great range of interesting and colorful designs while a few others have boring, barely legible designs. (The designs shown on www.candidatestuff.com are somewhat random and do not reflect my choices in design or candidate.) So if winning an election has a lot to do with appearances and symbols then some of the candidates are in trouble judging from their designs. Why? Do they not inspire creative people? Are their chances so slim that no one bothers to create colorful logos for them? Other candidates' items have beautiful and varied creative designs that work symbols and images. Are they just more inspiring?? Anyone care to comment on what you see??

And don't worry if about wasting money with a purchase of campaign buttons for a particular candidate who may be a long shot. Those items are the very things that make fascinating, colorful, and valuable memorabilia. Anyone have a Scoop Jackson button? Or Gary Hart? How about George Wallace!

My first button was "I like Ike" which disappeared after his election. Wouldn't it be great to see today!

Mac the Observer

Hats, buttons, bumper stickers!

You asked for more items to support your presidential candidates. We did our homework! check out www.candidatestuff.com for bumper stickers, magnets, hats, bags, buttons and more. Start by looking at candidates who have "hats in the ring." Find your candidate, a great design and see the shirts and other merchandise using the same design.

This is a fun way to support your candidate and tell the world about him or her. There is no order to the nine hats we currently display. You'll find: Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Chuck Hagel and John Edwards.

Does anyone want Al Sharpton, Fred Thompson, Dennis Kucinich?? Bill Richardson to be added next!

We'll report back on the most popular designs and candidate trends.

Mac the Observer