Blog Week 5

After the events of 9/11 many people exploited the tragedy by making souvenirs to “commemorate” what had happened when in actuality they were just trying to turn a profit. The same type of thing is happening in the US with the advent of the first black president Barack Obama. Companies are taking advantage of the fact that the American public has so much faith in the new president to turn things around and get “America back on track” that they are sticking his face on every possible product available in hopes of making some money. As with the September 11th attacks Americans are trying to return to “normal” which means a steady economy and plentiful job opportunities. So how do they get back to normal, they start consuming again. This need to consume is what the businesses producing all this Barack merchandise are hoping for. After traveling through the US multiple times in the last couple of months there is not a single convenience store or gas station that does not have at least ten different products with Obama’s face on it. Everything from coins and shot glasses to underwear and t-shirts have Obama’s face plastered on it with a slogan about how it is time for a change. What will be very interesting is to see is if the American public will turn on Obama if the economy is not turned around quickly. With so much faith built up into one president on only a four year term I believe that people are setting Obama up to fail. There are great expectations for this new president that could possibly fall short and decimate Obama’s chances for a second term.