Obama Tarts Himself Up for the DNC

So it was really cool how Barack Obama harnessed the power of the Internet to help propel his underdog presidential campaign all the way to the White House. Kind of like a political version of mass email marketing. Wait a minute, mass email marketing? Is it too late to activate my spam filter?

Let me explain. As a supporter of the campaign, I received frequent emails from it, updating me on campaign strategy, new advertisements and Obama's policy positions. That was fun and interesting. Most of the emails also asked for money, which was somewhat annoying but ultimately bearable because that's what political campaigns do, especially nationwide ones. 

Now that he is the President-elect the emails keep comin'. 

Sometimes, that's a good thing. Yesterday morning I got a message regarding the announcement of Obama's national security team. As I wrote earlier this month, Obama seems intent on continuing his use of digital media as president. That should help all of us be more engaged in public affairs. 

But sometimes it's not such a good thing. Like earlier today, when I received the following note: 

Citizen (They actually used my real name, but...)--

This holiday season, celebrate the historic accomplishment of our movement for change. Treat yourself or a loved one to a limited edition Obama fleece jacket.

Make a donation of $50 or more right now and get an official Obama fleece to mark an amazing year:

[PHOTO OF REALLY CHEESY ROYAL BLUE FLEECE JACKETS WITH THE OBAMA "O" ON THE LEFT CHEST]

Items purchased by December 15th are guaranteed to be delivered before December 25th.

When you make your donation, you'll be supporting the Democratic National Committee. The resources they invested in the 50-state organizing strategy made this movement possible -- help us build for future victories together.

Share this amazing moment with your friends and family. Thanks to supporters like you, we all have the opportunity to bring real change to America.

Get your holiday Obama fleece today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/fleece

Thank you,

Obama for America

Now, I suppose I should have expected this sort of thing. But it just doesn't sit well with me. I supported a candidate, not a party. I guess you can't blame Obama for trying to pay back the DNC for its support during the campaign. Still, I hope this is the last email of its kind. Besides the fact that no one with even the faintest fashion sense would dream of actually wearing one of these positively ghastly garments — I wish I could find a way to paste the picture in this post, but think intramural team meets Dharma Initiative and you'll get the picture — this is not the kind of thing that a sitting president (well, almost sitting president) should be doing. All I can think of is Bill Clinton and the Lincoln Bedroom. 

I don't think we're actually headed down that road again. 

At least I hope we're not. 

Meantime, that spam filter is on standby.