Nice Try
http://www.courier-journal.com/busin...ma20-3645.html
WASHINGTON — The principal merchandiser for the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign sold a handful of $49.95 embroidered fleece pullovers made in Burma, a country whose imports were banned last year by President Bush, officials said yesterday.
The Spalding Group of Louisville said its U.S. supplier inadvertently included Burma-made pullovers among a few hundred to be embroidered with the Bush-Cheney campaign logo and sold on its Web siteThe supplier said it had imported the pullovers before the ban went into effect, Spalding President Ted Jackson said. .
Bush, citing the nation's repressive regime and the need to provide incentives for human rights and democracy in Burma, now called Myanmar, signed into law a bill banning imports effective Sept. 1.
Jackson said he understood that any imports on hand before the ban could be sold legally, but he said the company would not have sold the garments had it known they were from Burma because of the ban and human-rights issues.
"From my perspective it's repugnant whether it's legal or not," he said. "We would never have sold anything from Burma. ... I would never have knowingly done that."
Jackson, a GOP contributor, is chairman of the re-election campaign of 4th District Rep. Anne Northup.
The company may have shipped to customers as many as 10 fleece pullovers carrying the "Made in Burma" label, Jackson said. Of the 60 garments in its warehouse Thursday, only two bore the label, he said.
Spalding asks its suppliers to provide only apparel manufactured in the United States unless U.S.-made products aren't available, Jackson said. Embroidery and printing are done domestically, he said.
"The merchandiser has admitted a mistake and accepted responsibility," said campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt. "The Bush-Cheney campaign is committed to making sure that only made-in-the-U.S.A. products are sold on the Web site."
Spalding, founded in 1984, provides printed campaign materials and campaign-related products and services for Republican candidates and organizations. A licensee for Bush-Cheney '04 Inc., it sells merchandise ranging from yard signs and mugs to caps and other apparel.
The Long Island, N.Y., newspaper Newsday reported yesterday that one of its reporters had received a fleece pullover that contained a "Made in Burma" label after ordering Bush-Cheney merchandise from the Web site.