On the way home today, I saw a sign spinner at the corner of MacArthur and Fairview in Costa Mesa. Here is the sign:
“Vote for McCain. Obama is a socialist and a friend of terrorists ! (William Ayers)â€
The “socialist†label is just ridiculous – I also like the grammatically bizarre parenthetical note on Obama’s terrorist sidekick. All of that isn’t why I find this really funny – this is:
This is the fellow who was holding the sign. I talked with him briefly, and asked him what the deal was with the sign. Apparently he was hired to stand on the corner and hold the sign by a man from Costa Mesa – he wasn’t sure if it was someone with the Republican party, but he thought that was likely. He is being paid $9 an hour for this work.
Why is this funny? Well, the minimum wage in California is actually $8 an hour. (This is likely under-the-table money anyway, which is common in the day labor market and not subject to state law.) While the Obama campaign has an enormous, enthusiastic volunteer base across the country, one which I have personally seen and been a part of, the McCain campaign has built little enthusiasm and has to pay “volunteers†to get out and spread their message. Not only that, they apparently had to raise their cash offer above minimum wage in order to get someone to work for them!
Tuesday is my birthday – I’m hoping for a good birthday present this year…