If Obama was smart, he'd buy a bunch of Gibsons and Rickenbackers and get somebody famous but mainstream to sign them and hand them out at every appearance with the words "my opponent is giving away Chinese guitars, but I still believe in 'made in USA'".

I've entered. I can't wait to have a thorough tantrum at the inevitable fundraising callers.

Yup, you can read 'Epiphone' on the headstock (one word).

Oh, and Fnarf is right; great idea. Fender would work too. I think Springsteen would do.

Word of caution with Fenders. Some models are made in Mexico or Japan. Gibsons would be more of a guarantee being made in-country.

What @1 said.

Meanwhile, the Seattle police are busy blowing up art pieces in Fremont. Oooh, scary art!

Comic book colors on a violin river cryin leonardo,
Words from out a silk trombone.
I rang a silent bell, beneath a shower of pearls,
In the eagle-winged palace of the queen chinee.

i'd rather eat frozen dog shit.

@5 - except Gibson are kinda a-holes in their own right (per the Cog Dis article), and of course makers of the Epiphone in question.

I was back in Iowa this weekend for a family thing, and it happened to be the weekend of the big fundraiser for my mother's Catholic parish, which is an "Oktoberfest" : a surprisingly authentic German dinner and craft fair. (Although they no longer serve beer at the dinner, which strikes me as vaguely anti-Catholic, and certainly anti-German. Germans built the church building in 1888, which certainly called for some beers. They had sermons in German until 1946, for God's sake.)

For years, this event has featured a raffle for a homemade quilt, made by the ladies of the quilt club. Back in the day, they knew what a quilt was, and the craftsmanship was exquisite. The quilt raffle was as popular as the homemade preserves booth or the beer garden (again, I ask: why?) or the car raffle. But those ladies died off, and the scrap booking crowd took over.

This year's quilt was a garish affair: all rayon and acrylic, with a picture of the parish priest - who late Papa Vel-DuRay referred to as "Father Milquetoast" - in the center. It was so awful that Mother Vel-DuRay, who has bought $100 in raffle tickets every year for the last fifty years, wouldn't go near it, fearing that this would be the year she'd luck out and win the damn thing.

Given the choice between a Kid Rock/Paul Ryan guitar, and that quilt, I'd take the quilt in a heartbeat. I'd hang it over the bed in the guest room of Chez Vel-DuRay, which is given over to all things religious.

If the signatures are easily erased I'd be glad to get the guitar.

FWIW, Epiphone guitars are actually pretty good quality given their low price-point. That being said, they're definitely made for novice players who want a decent sound, but who aren't at a skill level to justify paying roughly 10X the amount for the equivalent Gibson model.

If I win this guitar and Obama wins the election I am going to find a guitarist in the area who is willing to do set it on fire just like Jimi Hendrix.

You can't make me watch that Kid Rock video. Not without a sizable donation to my bank account first, and the promise of apologies afterward.

@14 There's nothing to see. Lots of flyover shots of forests and beaches (probably protected by Democratic politicians) and Kid Rock singing some tritely forgettable ditty about being "born free".