Nothing like pandering with a little cheap symbolism. Conservatives blasted President Obama this summer for launching his American jobs tour through the Midwest in a tour bus made with Canadian parts. Now, they're having to do some 'splainin' of their own:
U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar's campaign learned that two weeks ago when a Republican operative began circulating a photo of Lugar's campaign shirts showing that they were made in El Salvador. Some clever photo cropping left out the fact that the shirt material was purchased from the U.S.
Indiana Democrats quickly pounced on Lugar's apparent stumble, and the Lugar team walked it back, saying they'd made a mistake. Although Lugar political director David Willkie said the shirts were purchased from an Indiana company, he said the campaign should have ensured they were stitched in the U.S.
“It was a mistake, it was an oversight. We are collecting any T-shirts (made in El Salvador) and removing them to be replaced by ones made in the United States,” Willkie said.
Lugar isn't the only Republican catching criticism. When Indiana tea partiers gathered last weekend to endorse State Treasurer Richard Mourdock's primary challenge to Lugar, they sold T-shirts for $20 each to supporters. Those shirts, too, were made in El Salvador.
Instead of all this stupid finger-pointing and pandering, what would really be helpful is a discussion by the candidates of all the implications of the world economy, which, like it or not, is here to stay. Capital is going to go where it can get the most return. We are going to make some things we never have and buy some things we never thought we'd have to. Though we'll lose some jobs to tough overseas competition, we're smart and inventive enough to gain some, too. Look at typical cars these days. When you sort through where all the parts came from and where the various assemblies are accomplished, how many can you say are totally "American" or "Japanese" or "German"? Americans are sophisticated enough to figure this all out one of these days, and when they do, they might not appreciate all the simple-minded pap they've been fed.
