Obama, Peace, And Bumpers

The group that makes the popular 01.20.09 bumper sticker is getting behind Barack Obama. BLD Designs, the Manchester, Vt.-based creators of the Bush's-last-day merchandise, sees new opportunity in Obama. This week, it unveils a line dedicated to the new Democratic rock star.

"Iowa told us now is the time," Jodi Joseph, the company's sales director, tells our Suzi Parker. "We're incorporating a peace message with Obama. Everything he has brought to the forefront typifies what our message is about--peace and change. So many of our customers are embracing Obama, it made sense to put that into our message."

The line includes buttons, caps, bumper stickers, and T-shirts. There are two choices: One uses a peace symbol for the O, and underneath it says, "POTUS 1.20.09." The second has the same peace symbol but says, "Believe" underneath. When Sen. John Kerry endorsed Obama last week, he and his staff got some of the cool stuff.

As for the Bush-last-day merchandise, Joseph says sales have been "phenomenal." Joseph says the company is sure that people like Obama as much as they loathe Bush. Not so with their attempt to sell Hillary Clinton with the message "Hillary 11.4.08."

"When we first brought out Hillary, our customers were still too fed up with Bush to concentrate on anything else," she says.

By Paul Bedard