stuffed president

I’m home from work today because of an eye appointment which got moved to tomorrow. This morning I decided I would stop by the grocery store on what should have been a routine trip. Everything was going along normally until, on my way out, I passed the claw machine and saw this:



President Nixon?

A stuffed plush President Nixon?

For a second I was certain it couldn’t possibly be Richard Nixon. What child would want a toy of President Nixon?

Who would sit around a marketing meeting going, “We need a plush toy that people will be willing to throw insane amounts of money into the claw machine for. Something children will beg their parents for quarters to get. Something guys will try to win to impress their girlfriend. Our blue-headed mallard isn’t really doing it, and fake Shrek hasn’t moved in months. What can we get?”

“Sir? What about disgraced former president turned respected elder statesman Richard M. Nixon?”

“GENIUS!”

That couldn’t be right. I entertained the thought that it might actually be a bad Jay Leno (although the same thoughts come to mind; what child wants a toy of Jay Leno?) but the tag confirmed it:



It’s Nixon.

This leaves me with two questions. The first, obviously, is, “Why? Why does that exist?” and the second is, “How much will it cost to get that out of the claw machine?”