See update here.
By popular demand, the bumper sticker has become reality.
Get it here.
Couple points: Look, this really is a pro-Obama bumper sticker. It’s just a realistic, not to say jaded, pro-Obama bumper sticker. And maybe it’s more than a little whiny. You really think you can win the presidency without courting or crafting constituencies that Good People don’t like? I don’t. Of course, I’m a notorious pain; to borrow from the great Michael Bérubé, the number of people whose politics I can wholly accept would fit comfortably in a phone booth.1
Inasmuch as it really is a pro-Obama bumper sticker, albeit one with attitude, The Edge of the American West is not going to profit from it. We clear a dollar on each sale, and those dollars will go to the Obama campaign. Somehow we3 feel this will send the right message.
Second point: I only just ordered one myself, and I haven’t seen the physical thing yet. If it turns out to look crummy, I’ll let you know. You can order one now, but consider yourself an early adopter, downloading beta software, if you do.
1Remember phone booths?2
2Ooh, that’s another demerit from Leslie.
3“We” is Cala, whose idea the slogan was, and me, who designed it, and Ari, who supplies advice.
The Edge of the American West 
58 comments
June 25, 2008 at 8:56 am
Perfect for the filibuster fan in your life « The Poor Man Institute
[…] for the filibuster fan in your life Posted by Sifu Tweety Fish under Uncategorized Send one to the Dodd today! […]
June 25, 2008 at 11:40 am
Fontana Labs
If you introduce a bumper sticker with 3g next week, I’m going to kick your ass.
June 25, 2008 at 11:44 am
eric
How about a coffee mug?
June 25, 2008 at 11:53 am
andrew
What if you sell more than 2300?
June 25, 2008 at 12:28 pm
eric
We’ll deal with such success as and when the market compels us.
June 25, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Fair Warning « Division Street
[…] this really is a pro-Obama bumper sticker,” writes Eric at The Edge of the American West. “It’s just a realistic, not to say jaded, pro-Obama bumper sticker. And maybe it’s more […]
June 25, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Charlieford
I’d love to see the demographic profile of purchasers..
June 25, 2008 at 1:46 pm
ari
Is “very cool” a demographic category? If not, that says all I need to know about demographers.
June 25, 2008 at 1:47 pm
John B.
I love this sticker. I want one fo sho!
June 25, 2008 at 2:34 pm
eric
Hmm. If we get links from “NBC5’s blog about Chicago news and politics,” there’s a chance that Senator Obama himself might see this. Everyone act natural. No, everyone behave.
June 25, 2008 at 3:22 pm
urbino
Pro-Obama though it may be, it’s much too ironically pro-Obama for the “pro” part to come across, in my neck of the woods. I’ll have to abstain.
June 25, 2008 at 3:27 pm
eric
it’s much too ironically pro-Obama for the “pro” part to come across
But it says, clearly, “get disappointed by someone new”! It doesn’t say “get disappointed by someone old”!
June 25, 2008 at 4:12 pm
andrew
Get disappointed by someone who has taken new positions on dozens of issues!
June 25, 2008 at 4:13 pm
andrew
More seriously, I’ll probably get this, but won’t display it out of anti-bumperstickerness. Also, I don’t know where my care will be going.
June 25, 2008 at 4:14 pm
andrew
“car”, not “care”
June 25, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Josh
Does the title of the post refer to the bumper sticker or to Obama?
June 25, 2008 at 4:35 pm
SEK
I agree.
Wait — no I don’t.
Is this behaving?
June 25, 2008 at 8:21 pm
John Emerson
It was merciful of Barack to put us out of our misery quickly.
I’m not at all surprised, but still disappointed, because I had not succeeded in extinguishing all hope. Hope springs eternal, etc., but I’m immune for awhile.
I guess my new prayer is “Barack! Don’t convince us that McManus was right and Hillary really was better!”
June 25, 2008 at 10:34 pm
greginak
umm yeah this is a pro-obama sticker my ass. if anything it is a hipper-then-thou attempt at being detached and ironic. fornicate that. yeah i don’t like his take on FISA but we are in the real world here. people do things we don’t like all the time. If that destroys hope then this world is a little to rough.
while obama has a real long way to go to be a Lincoln or FDR, if he even has it in him, but those guys made far worse boo-boo’s and boners then this.
June 25, 2008 at 10:41 pm
ari
Greg, all due respect: take a breath. It’s a bumper sticker. And if you’re at all familiar with this site, we are Obama partisans. That said, the rule of law isn’t a minor issue. And Senator Obama’s stand on the FISA compromise does disappoint us. Your mileage may vary, of course. As for being hip, detached, and ironic, you flatter us. We’re scholars, students of politics, and pretty much as earnest about the electoral process as the next nerds. Regardless, sorry you don’t like the sticker.
June 26, 2008 at 4:27 am
Russell Belding
I’ll probably get one for my car, which would be kind of scary, as I’ve never made a political statement via bumper before (the one sticker I display now is “Wag More/Bark Less,” in honor of my two dogs, sometimes known affectionately as Yippy and Yappy). I’ll still vote for the guy, even though he seems to represent less the Audacity of Hope than just plain old annoying, garden-variety Audacity.
June 26, 2008 at 5:33 am
John Emerson
I always knew that he would find his own comfort zone and that it would be to the right of mine. On some kind of imaginary quantitative scale, where Bush is in the negative numbers, Obama will end up being a 4 or a 5 where I hoped for a 6 or a 7 and wished for a 10.
Wherever he draws his line, though, that’s what he will fight for. He won’t merely fail to fight for the 6s and 7s we want; he’ll fight against them. That’s the way it was with Clinton, and this won’t be different. His 4 or 5 will unquestionably be better than McCain’s minus-whatever.
June 26, 2008 at 6:08 am
politicalfootball
The bumper sticker gag is a good one as a blog comment, but I find it excessive for everyday use. For my part, I’m not ashamed or defensive – hell, I’m even enthusiastic – about supporting a guy who represents a realistic prospect of putting a brake on the evil insanity of the last eight (or twenty-eight) years.
We’ve got an opportunity to put into office perhaps the best president in, oh, maybe 60 years or so. Yes, yes, I know, that’s damning with faint praise, but still …
June 26, 2008 at 10:18 am
Herb Belrose
That’s funny. I was thinking the exact same thing. Twain said there are three things no one can do to everyone’s liking: Make love, poke a fire and publish a newspaper.
I would like to add be the first black president to that list. The oval office is a slimy place.
June 26, 2008 at 10:31 am
candacelange
Love the bumper sticker, and agree with it totally. However, I just want him elected so I will keep my Obama sticker as is, just in case it influences ONE more vote to get the neo cons out of the White House. I am in constant dread of another one of them taking the reins of power! I an nervous that he will get behind nuclear power as an alternative source and that freaks me. The French are so busy reducing thier carbon footprint and enlarging their radiation footprint. They are shipping their waste to Russia on trains thru Europe! Nasty stuff! Until Handford is clean as a whistle and the waste is rendered harmless, I am feverishly anti nuke!
June 26, 2008 at 10:36 am
The Dude
As a McCain supporter, I love your bumper sticker. I think I’ll make one for McCain as well. It will read: Get disappointed by someone Old. McCain 2008!
June 26, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Picador
Excellent. I just bought five, for distribution to friends coming to my wedding this summer in Canada (where I moved recently, having given up on the banana republic to the south where I was born and raised).
June 26, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Disappointment « The United States of Jamerica
[…] June 26, 2008 Disappointment Posted by Jamelle under 2008 general election, democrats, politics | Tags: barack obama | I think I can jump on board this ship: […]
June 26, 2008 at 8:14 pm
catcalls2life
both canidates for the presidential election does not impress me. i think i’ll be disappointed no matter who wins. its not either of them’s time to be president…and it isn’t hilliarie’s time either.
June 26, 2008 at 8:16 pm
ari
I think we all know whose time it is. And whose time it always will be.
June 26, 2008 at 8:25 pm
urbino
He big pimpin’.
June 27, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Armsmasher
Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose. There’s your bumper sticker.
June 27, 2008 at 2:53 pm
ari
Well, not everything stays the same. He is a Muslim, after all.
June 27, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Jim
You will of course always be disappointed by politicians when you expect them to do exactly what you want.
If Obama is different than all those who have come before him, it is in that he expects not to please everyone, and expects us (each and every one of us) to contribute to the change we seek, and not simply demand it.
So if you’re disappointed, stop blogging and get off your …
See you this Saturday. Unite for change.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/uniteforchange/
June 27, 2008 at 4:06 pm
eric
Jim, I don’t expect Obama to do exactly what I want. You’ll note it says that in the post.
It’s just that in the current case Obama’s not agreeing with Obama:
The rapid reversal of position without substantive explanation does indeed disappoint me. It doesn’t particularly make me want to “unite for change.”
Besides, what are you complaining about? Proceeds from this exercise in mere blogging from my … will go to the campaign.
June 27, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Getting It Wrong « Hungry Hungry Hippos
[…] so much. Perhaps this is the right sentiment, after […]
June 27, 2008 at 9:46 pm
harding
The bumper sticker is fine.
Quoting Michael Bérubé is awesome.
Nice work.
June 28, 2008 at 12:47 am
Eric Hamby
you could use this for all the people running for president this year. .
June 28, 2008 at 5:21 am
John Emerson
Jim and Greg, I figured out decades ago that my support for a Presidential candidate is the KISS OF DEATH. Just be glad I’m not happy. be glad I’m complaining. I’m doing the Lord’s work. Each of us has a role to play in the great game of life.
Suppose I went around saying that where it counts, Obama is just like Kucinich. How much is that going to help him?
June 28, 2008 at 6:54 am
Walt
Jim’s comment reads like spam to me. Be proud, guys — you’ve been spammed by the Obama campaign.
June 28, 2008 at 6:59 am
wolfsburgkolleg
I’d love to see the demographic profile of purchasers..
Keep the good work
June 28, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Top Posts « WordPress.com
[…] You asked for it, you got it. By popular demand, the bumper sticker has become reality. [image] Get it here. Couple points: Look, this really is a […] […]
June 29, 2008 at 5:31 am
Robert
There was an article recently that claimed that people who had bumper stickers were more prone to “Road Rage”. How do you account for that? :)
June 29, 2008 at 8:24 am
eric
I don’t know, Robert. How do you account for that?
June 29, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Robert
Hi Eric;
I didn’t write the article or do the finding, maybe people who choose to put a bumper sticker on a car are extroverts so they show anger easily, while the silent type without the bumper sticker has a magnum 45 within reach.
Who knows?
July 1, 2008 at 8:43 am
It looks good on paper. « The Edge of the American West
[…] 1, 2008 in history and current events by eric The bumper sticker looks good in real life, too. If I had a bumper I would put it on, but I don’t normally drive […]
July 4, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Globally Optimistic, : A new kind of politician
[…] From The Edge of the American West […]
July 11, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Ouch. « …still spitting…
[…] July 11, 2008 Ouch. Posted by Susan under politics, pro-choice Bumper sticker for sale: […]
August 8, 2008 at 4:26 pm
MonkeyMuffins
“…someone who has taken new positions on dozens of issues!”
New positions? I think not.
It’s tragic, though predictable and not surprising, that people are this self-deluded.
I’m going to enjoy watching how truly, deeply and deliciously y’all are going to be disappointed.
I’ve never purchased, let alone used, a bumper sticker in my life but I was just about to buy this one…until I saw that some of the money goes to the campaign of the snake-oil, hot-air, style-over-substance, talkin’-loud-and-sayin’-nothin’ commander-in-chief). Not to mention the sticker is intended to be “ironic” and pro-Obama (or should I say, pro-the-smoke-and-mirrors that is the scripted, fictional character of Obama).
Mark my words, the only thing ironic about this sticker is that its message holds more truth than you will ever consciously allow yourselves to acknowledge.
Personally — though you’ll never catch me anywhere near the scam of a voting booth — I want McCain to ascend to the throne.
Either presumptive, multi-million-dollar “candidate” will only make matters worse — because they will only strive to maintain the unsustainable-by-definition status quo (hint: if you think next generation nuke reactors and wind farms are “new positions”, you’re sadly mistaken) — but McCain will do more damage, more rapidly, and in a shorter amount of time.
The sooner the proverbial monkey muffins hit the fan, the better.
Then — and only then — will there be any chance at all for a remote chance of real, substantive change. And it will be a long shot at best.
An addict has to hit rock bottom.
August 8, 2008 at 4:38 pm
ari
Have a good weekend to you too.
August 8, 2008 at 4:47 pm
eric
the snake-oil, hot-air, style-over-substance, talkin’-loud-and-sayin’-nothin’ commander-in-chief
From your mouth to God’s ears.
August 8, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Brad
The sooner the proverbial monkey muffins hit the fan, the better.
Then — and only then — will there be any chance at all for a remote chance of real, substantive change. And it will be a long shot at best.
Exactly. We need to accelerate the downfall, highlight the differences, and, basically, make this country a living hell!
And, after the glorious revolution, academics – like ari and eric – will be the first against the wall! Oh, wait a minute….
August 8, 2008 at 5:37 pm
bitchphd
“Monkey muffins”? Really?
August 8, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Jason B
I have to wonder why people work so hard at being so stupid. This person has equated “Monkey Muffins” with shit, and then taken the term as his (her?) name.
It fits.
November 5, 2008 at 8:59 pm
The Valve
Initiating manual trackback. What is it with WordPress? When I try not to trackback to conservative blogs, it does so of its own accord. When I try ping it myself, it bats its eyes at me and plays coy. Vey iz mir, I know. Vey iz mir.
November 10, 2008 at 9:43 am
The Spectacle of Obama « zunguzungu
[…] language he doesn’t know yet. I know that what seems new now will turn into the banal and the disappointing eventually, but when you haven’t yet figured out how to see, you look without comprehending. […]
February 4, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Should have gotten one of those bumper stickers… « The Edge of the American West
[…] 4, 2009 in Obama, history and current events | by davenoon As Eric urged last fall, I’m officially disappointed by someone […]
June 9, 2009 at 6:39 pm
“It’s a bad sign.” « The Edge of the American West
[…] that? You say you were thinking about taking off your bumper sticker? Put that craft razor away. I mean, if Kathy says […]