Sandal scandal! Rand Paul flip-flops on what to call flip-flops
The Rand Paul campaign has its first scandal ... or at least the official Rand Paul for president campaign has its first official scandal. And, small though it may be, it already has a made-for-the-sound-bite-age name: Sandal Scandal.
Earlier today, some time before the junior Republican senator from Kentucky took to a Louisville stage to officially declare himself a candidate for president of the United States, RandPaul.com went live with a grand, if motley, collection of campaign swag. You can get your basic logo tees, or your cycling togs, your iPhone covers and your Rand Paul–autographed pocket U.S. Constitution. There’s two-dimensional Rand Paul on a stick, a cornhole set (who says “politics ain’t beanbags?”), a privacy-protecting camera blocker for your computer, and even a giant Rand Paul birthday card (suitable for any birthday — not just Rand’s!).
And then, filed under “fun stuff” (not “apparel” or “accessories,” mind you), a pair of “I stand with Rand”–emblazoned ... well, what are these exactly?
Earlier today, this handsome pair was sold under the curiously descriptive rubric “Rand Paul Flip Flops,” which, apparently, was not to be confused with other pages on the site about ethanol and Israel, but was very much there, live, for all to purchase ... or screen-grab.
And, as they say this time of year, “That would have been enough!” But rather than just give the Internet something titter and twitter about, that Paul for Prexy page has given us comedy gold.
Because how can you “stand with Rand” when Rand doesn’t even know where he stands on what to call what he stands on?
Yes, by this afternoon, “Rand Paul Flip Flops” had, uh, evolved (does Paul believe in evolution?) to become “Rand Paul Sandals.”
And, because a picture is worth a thousand words, but why not also add more words, the copy was significantly — and pointedly — rewritten too. Whereas the morning flip-flops encouraged buyers to “stand with Rand in official campaign flip flops,” those afternoon sandals told the well-shod fan to “stand strong on the principles of our Constitution with Rand Paul knowing the Rand Paul you see today is the same one you'll see in the White House.”
Or at least the one you see now ... this afternoon — please ignore the footwear behind the memory curtain!
Either way, such early stumbles might not affect Paul’s path to victory, but we now see he’s a bit awkward in de-feet.
P.S.: Lest you think this is just Photoshop magic, The Washington Post grabbed the flip-flop version for its morning story on the Paul merch site, and the Paul campaign has, as of this writing, still not changed the original URL (above).
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