The schlock inauguration: QVC + Obama = Cheesified
By Michelle Malkin • January 5, 2009 10:42 PM
How do you spell tacky? Q-V-C in D.C. They’re coming to the presidential inauguration. It’s a perfect match — the relentless hawkers at the shopping network and the relentless money-grubbers at Team Obama still pimping pins and other knick-knacks after the election.
QVC is traveling to Washington to mark President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration this month — and is bringing along plenty of coins, stamps, jewelry and even a small handbag to sell.
The retail network has already sold more than 100,000 items related to Obama’s election and sees the inauguration as an opportunity to reach far beyond the group of people regularly interested in political collectibles.
“Frankly, if we were not at the inauguration, we would feel like we were not doing our job,” said Doug Rose, vice president of multichannel programming for the retail giant, which is available in 94 million American homes and had sales totaling $7.4 billion in 2007.
QVC will show portions of the parade and conduct interviews with spectators, then air live on the night of Jan. 20 from the Creative Coalition’s inaugural ball. Host Leah Williams will be decked out in an inaugural gown.
Obama’s inauguration has attracted plenty of interest from TV networks, not only the traditional broadcast and cable news outlets, but specialized venues such as BET and Nickelodeon that don’t normally pay attention to live political events.
“We’re trying to give the audience a flavor of what the event is like, from the event,” Rose said. “We will try to give them a sense of the electricity in the air.”
Among the items QVC has been selling since the election are a Barack Obama stamp collection, with stamps from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Grenada, St. Vincent and The Grenadines ($38.88 ). One set has an Obama-Biden half dollar coin and a 1939 stamp depicting George Washington taking the first oath of office ($23.75). An Obama throw blanket is marked down from $41 to $36.84.
No word on whether they’ll be selling La Obama Soda or those Obama memorial plates, a version of which I spotted next to the batteries and bubblegum at Walgreen’s the other day.
Cheesy.
Or rather: Uber-cheesy.
Hat tip: JWF.
Posted in: Barack Obama
Maybe it's just me, but I don't recall this type of activity for previous inaugurations, and my recollections go back to JFK. Seems to me that the Office of President, albeit damaged in reputation by Nixon, at least seemed somewhat above all this kind of ticky-tacky stuff until Clinton, with his saxaphone-blowing (amongst other "blowing"), Hollywood-friendly, "first Black president" Arkansas attitude.
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"Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 10
The schwag they are selling from Chinese factories is as American as the man they are celebrating; made elsewhere but sold here, just like Obama.
There is going to be a TON of money to be made by hawking the right products in the right price range to the right people. The same type of people as the ones in the YouTube vids - The mother who says she won't have to worry about rent after Obama gets into office, the Hurricane Looters Drill Team, the women who swoon and collapse when they hear Obama speak ... all those and many many more wil be buying the stuff 'hand over fist'.
+1 to the people who can make some money on it. Might as well.
From Michelle Malkin:
Maybe it's just me, but I don't recall this type of activity for previous inaugurations, and my recollections go back to JFK. Seems to me that the Office of President, albeit damaged in reputation by Nixon, at least seemed somewhat above all this kind of ticky-tacky stuff until Clinton, with his saxaphone-blowing (amongst other "blowing"), Hollywood-friendly, "first Black president" Arkansas attitude.
I'm guessing there will be a whole lot of things associated with this administration that you don't recall with any previous ones.
I went to a fleamarket the other day and it was crazy, black baby barack angels, gold leafed tshirts with sayings like "Oh yes we did!!!", obama jewelry "grills", necklaces, watches all blinged out. I was walking around like holy ****
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And I, Enoch, I alone saw the likeness of the end of all things.
some dude was in the super market covered from head to toe with obama-wear and obama bling. i wonder how much $ he spent on that crap and if it was tax payer $ he spent.
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My savior is a carpenter, not a president.
The schwag they are selling from Chinese factories is as American as the man they are celebrating; made elsewhere but sold here, just like Obama.
There is going to be a TON of money to be made by hawking the right products in the right price range to the right people. The same type of people as the ones in the YouTube vids - The mother who says she won't have to worry about rent after Obama gets into office, the Hurricane Looters Drill Team, the women who swoon and collapse when they hear Obama speak ... all those and many many more wil be buying the stuff 'hand over fist'.
+1 to the people who can make some money on it. Might as well.
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