Signs of the campaign

[illusionofjoy]

As I live in an apartment building, I do not have my own lawn. Thus, putting up a campaign lawn sign is out of the equation. Still, since I have windows, I am always willing to try and impress my political views on random passers-by. In 2004 I posted a Kerry/Edwards yard sign in the window of my apartment, a simple plastic-coated cardboard sheet with the metal bar which would usually be used to prop it up in the ground removed.

During the Democratic Primary this year, I posted a "Hillary for President" cardboard rally sign in my window. These rally signs are actually the perfect size for windows and their lack of weatherproofing isn't an issue indoors (even so, my sign had gotten caught in a rainstorm and no one could tell).

The new trend I've noticed with campaign yard signs is that they are made of thin plastic, with the candidates' name, logo, etcetera screened on. They are much like shopping bags found at more upscale retail outlets, except with the opening in the bottom and no handles. The Bush/Cheney campaign of 2004 used this type of yard sign. However, they now seem to be the standard for all candidates in 2008, the exception being Hillary Clinton's campaign which used the plastic-coated cardboard Kerry/Edwards model (I believe this was also true of Ron Paul's campaign signs, though I never bothered to look that closely).

The advantage to the plastic bag style sign, other than the fact that they are likely less expensive to produce, is that they are easier to cart around in large quantities, what with being malleable and lightweight. Disadvantages include obvious environmental concerns and the fact that it's far easier to stomp a plastic bag campaign sign into oblivion (as I know firsthand from seeing way too many Bush/Cheney signs along a highway in 2004 and finally deciding to pull over and do something about it).

Another less obvious disadvantage to the plastic bag sign is how susceptible they are to the heat of the sun. This is not an issue when said sign is posted in a yard, reinforced by a metal support rod, however, it becomes a problem when one tapes said sign up in a window. I had noticed my "O'Donnell for Congress" sign beginning to sag in my window, rendering it illegible to the outside world due to the reflections of sunlight off of what were now many curves in the surface of the sign. The cardboard "Hillary for President" sign was not susceptible to the sun's heat in such a way, ergo, I decided that the best way to deal with this situation would be to reinforce my O'Donnell sign by slipping thin sheets of cardboard inside of the plastic bag. So far, so good.