Barack vs. the Wedding Industry

Late last week a story appeared on the Drudge Report that was so outside the realm of reasonable good taste that most people initially thought it was a joke.  The Obama campaign has come up with “The Obama event registry.”  The nuts and bolts of the fund raising scheme is that people who are getting married, having an anniversary, birthday, etc  should forgo the gifts for their event, and instead have their friends and family give the gift money to the Obama campaign.  This fund raising idea is so cheesy that it should be sponsored by the late Billy Mays or Hulk Hogan.

According to Fox News, those participating in this registry nonsense are asked to set a monetary goal for their event and are given language they can use among their friends and family to ensure that the wedding purse finds its way to the White House coffers.  Not only is this fund raising effort beneath the dignity of people like Bernie Madoff, let alone the President of the United States, but it tells us everything we will ever need to know about Obama.

Barack Obama is asking brides and grooms to give up their gifts for his sake when he never gave up a round of golf or lavish vacation for their sake.  He is also trying to shoehorn his way into what should be one of the biggest days of somebody’s life.  In essence, he is your wedding gift.  Okay, so the objective evidence exposes him as a shallow, self-centered narcissist.  Contrary to what MSNBC thinks about the man, very few people will be surprised by this characterization.  What most people are probably missing in this mess of a love letter to himself, is that it also belies an almost criminal ignorance (or apathy) for how the economy works.

For the moment let’s ignore the birthday, anniversary, graduation, and bris money Barack wants to get his hands on.  Weddings in particular are an economic tempest of activity.  On average, people spend $75 for a wedding gift.  The average number of gift toting guests to a wedding is 150 to 300 people.  This means the average middle class wedding sends between $11,250 and $22,500 into the nation’s financial system.  These numbers are based on if only someone’s friends are attending a wedding.  When you factor in the average $130 from family members, that number goes up.  Multiply these numbers by how many people get married between June and November and economic activity is into the millions and perhaps the billions.  In his perfect world, this is money that Barack would rip away from the private sector and see diverted to his campaign war chest.

Barack Obama is putting the needs of his campaign over the needs of an economy in crisis.  The billions of dollars from the gift giving industry sustain businesses, both large and small, and provide jobs for millions of Americans.  With that in mind, Obama is not asking for donations, he is asking people to give him money INSTEAD of spending it at Bed, Bath, & Beyond or Target; effectively removing that cash from the real world economy.

Even his supporters should be concerned that when the panic of low poll numbers drives him to react on instinct, those instincts tell him to do something that will ultimately hurt the economy.  Fortunately very few people are taking this seriously and the gift giving industry appears to be safe unless he signs an executive order that mandates people hand over their gifts to the White House.  What the hell, Michelle can probably could use the toaster oven or gravy boat that your Aunt Sylvia bought.