The Senator Barack Obama, the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nominee is available as a gift, a toy, even as a reminder of the coming election in November. The Barack Obama, the first African-American presidential nominee, has brought a new dynamic to American political discourse. Now you can have that new dynamic right in home. A great item for fans of Obama, fans of politics, and everyone.

Confession: I bought this within a few minutes of learning of it’s existence. I think that reaction is fairly typical. It’s definitely one of those items with a certain guaranteed “pre-sold” audience. I knew what I was getting, and as it was an impulse buy for sure, I wilfully brushed aside the number one issue that exists with this toy. It’s an issue which will probably grow on you — or come back to haunt you time and again — the longer you have it.

The issue is the matter of likeness. The little guy is really hurting in that department. I don’t know who they had sculpt this, but I have to venture that he was no name in the business. The figure merely “checks the box” in the most perfunctory manner by being male, recognizably dark-complected and wearing a suit. As a caricature of Barack Obama, it utterly fails. That’s pretty harsh, but let’s be honest: If the box didn’t say “OBAMA, An Action Figure You Can Believe In”, you could believe it was just about anybody else.

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