Obama’s “Hope” – The New Tramp Stamp of Political Decals

Timothy H. Lee

2/25/2010

“Oh, no… What have I done?”

That is the lament of innumerable people staring into a mirror at the garish tattoo they added to their lower backsides the previous night during a spell of misjudgment. Such tattoos are often referred to as “tramp stamps,” a term that has gained such cultural currency that it was named one of the “Words of the Year” for 2009 by the New Oxford American Dictionary.

Today, one can travel down any busy American street or highway and usually spot the new political equivalent of the tramp stamp. Namely, the ubiquitous 2008 campaign decal with the cartoonish stenciled portrait of Barack Obama gazing wistfully into the distance above the nebulous term “HOPE.”

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