I searched the diaries and didn't see this mentioned. I'm sorry if it has been, but knowing that the DNC reads this blog (and hopefully the Kerry camp) it probably doesn't hurt to post something about this twice.
Kossacks are probably aware of the following story:
The official merchandise Web site for President George W. Bush's re-election campaign has sold clothing made in Burma, whose goods were banned by Bush from the U.S. last year to punish its military dictatorship.
The merchandise sold on www.georgewbushstore.com includes a $49.95 fleece pullover, embroidered with the Bush-Cheney '04 logo and bearing a label stating it was made in Burma, now Myanmar. The jacket was sent to Newsday as part of an order that included a shirt made in Mexico and a hat not bearing a country-of-origin label.
The Bush merchandise is handled by Spalding Group, a 20-year-old supplier of campaign products and services in Louisville, Ky., that says it worked for the last five Republican presidential nominees.
Ted Jackson, Spalding's president, said, "We have found only one other in our inventory that was made in Burma. The others were made in the U.S.A." He said the company had about 60 of thefleece pullovers in its warehouse, and that a supplier included the Burma product by mistake.
Bush campaign officials did not return calls seeking comment. The imports are potentially an issue because outsourcing has become a hot political topic in the election.
Bush last July signed into law the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, saying "The United States will not waver from its commitment to the cause of democracy and human rights in Burma."
This is the kind of gaffe that's been hurting us all this week. And the Bushies have handed it to us on a silver platter. If the DNC and the Kerry campaign don't jump on this right now, they are fools.
This story is "tailor made" (pun intended) to knock RoveCo off balance. It incorporates several themes of the Kerry campaign (Bush is a liar, Bush is outsourcing American jobs, Bush's foreign policy is poorly thought out) into a nice, easy-to-understand package...all tied up with a bow.
Unless of course our goods are made somewhere worse?