Friday September 15 7:48 AM ET

Lieberman Yarmulkes for Sale

hmm@hmm.hmm), September 17, 2000

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Friday September 15 7:48 AM ET

Lieberman Yarmulkes for Sale

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CHICAGO (Reuters) - Hats off to marketers in America.

The first Jew on a U.S. presidential ticket has inspired two Chicago companies to sell yarmulkes, or Jewish skull caps, bearing Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman (news - web sites)'s name.

Founder and CEO of Zipple.com, Jory Rozner, said she had sold about 1,000 white yarmulkes that read ``Lieberman 2000'' in red and blue. Absent from Zipple's skull cap is any mention of the ticket's contender for president, Al Gore (news - web sites).

``It's just celebrating the fact ... that a Jewish person is running for this office.... This is not about Gore-Lieberman. It's about Lieberman,'' Rozner said.

Yarmulkes, traditionally worn by Jewish men as a sign of respect before God, often take a playful turn. Some feature sports team logos or cartoon characters.

And with political memorabilia encompassing everything from campaign buttons to bumper stickers to key chains, the blue suede Gore-Lieberman yarmulke sold on AllThingsJewish.com is another way for voters to make known their political, if not religious, affiliation.

``It's a way to express their enthusiasm for the first Jewish candidate on the major ticket,'' said Harry Nelson, co-founder of AllThingsJewish.com, adding that he has sold about 150 skull caps.

Nelson admitted he has gotten a few complaints about mixing the secular with the sacred, but none of those objections havecome from the religious community, he said.

As for a George W. Bush (news - web sites)/Dick Cheney (news - web sites) yarmulke, Rozner has no intention of selling one. However, Nelson said he has received a few requests and put the odds at 50-50 that his Web site will offer a skull cap bearing the names of the Republican candidates for president and vice president.

``If the demand is out there, we'd certainly be glad to meet it,'' Nelson said.

-- (hmm@hmm.hmm), September 17, 2000.

Okay. Lieberman's got his -- now what are Gore, Bush, and Cheney going to contribute to future eBay auctions? (I'm sure someone around here can think of some appropriate future memorabilia! There's a buck to be made here!)

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), September 17, 2000.