Denver Vendors Hawk Everything Obama

Stephanie Simon reports from Denver on the Democratic convention. Conventions and capitalism go hand-in-hand – as a stroll down Denver’s 16th Street Mall makes clear. The pedestrian mall is packed with vendors selling every possible souvenir. It’s hard to imagine how many items can be emblazoned with Sen. Barack Obama ’s image – until you see it for yourself. There are pins and buttons aplenty, of course. But also: An Obama doll, for $15. (Or not a doll, exactly, but as the package proclaims, “An Action Figure We Can Believe in.”) An Obama Bling T-shirt, studded with rhinestones, for $25. Obama playing cards. Obama incense. Obama dish towels. Even Obama “On Our Way to the White House” bottled water, priced at $2 on a hot afternoon. From a booth getting little traffic, Justin Sylvestor peddled brown canvas shoes — imprinted with a Democratic donkey and the word “VOTE.” The hook: The manufacturer, Toms, would donate a pair of shoes to needy kids for every pair sold for full ... (link)