Mike Lenhart (bio)

I did some poking around the 'Net and found some interesting items, not only logos from the current batch of presidential wannabees, but also some buttons from the past. You gotta love buttons. It seems no one wears them as much as they used to.

Anyway, take a look at some of the presidential buttons from way back when:

You've got your "Put (Your) Hoover On" button, a "Roosevelt/Lausche" funny-looking-clip-type thing, and your quintessential "Ike and Dick".

You also have your "Goldwater", a "Nixon/Agnew", and the "Kennedy" button (which I'd still wear today).

Remember the "WIN" button? Although that was a Ford thing, I remember that simple button as being very effective, nonetheless.

Here are some more old buttons:

Now, let's look at the logos of the 2008 presidential candidates:

McCain's logo look very military - I wonder why? Chris Dodd's is very boring - who was he anyway? Mitt Romney's logo looks Word-derived as Ron Paul's is just all over the place. Notice the directions of the apostrophes in the '08s for Gillmore and Hunter. Please! No wonder they didn't get very far. At least Edwards played it safe. Some got it right (Go Obama!). The others simply left the '08 off - a sure sign of clever presidential maneuvering.

Last, but not least, I found a button of old that speaks of a day when we really believed and trusted in our Leader. I personally would NEVER wear this one now.

So, you see, buttons and logos of the presidential candidates, and presidents themselves, can induce thought, conversation, at times ridicule, and sometimes action. Hopefully, we're on the verge of a new way of identifying, and visually communicating, the views and ideologies of our future leaders. C'mon, hire a professional designer, at least!