What you see here is a real thing that exists — and that Mitt Romney gave the go-ahead to put into mass production. You see, the year was 2002, and Romney was acting as the chief executive of the Salt Lake Olympics — but other than those facts, there’s really not a whole lot known about the origins of this pin. In fact, the farthest I could trace this image back to is a mostly-blank page on the Boston Globe‘s website with the description, Olympics promotional buttons bearing Mitt Romney’s likeness were accompanied by slogans like ”Hey, Mitt, we love you!” and ”Are we there yet, Mitt?”
Since I’m currently unsure of why these buttons came into existence or what, frankly, they have to do with running the Olympics — let’s brainstorm a few explanations:
- Romney is a master of plans and always knew he would run for president in 2012. So, he distributed these pins to every 8-year-old in Utah in hopes of causing a mental association between Mitt and the cute cartoon mascots that would last at least until the kids turned 18 and were able to vote …for Mitt Romney.
- Romney is a closeted fan of Casey Kasem and always wanted a likeness of himself as looking like his favorite Top 40 DJ to add to his secret collection of rock-n-roll pins.
- He decided to satisfy his desire for hundreds of wives by smugly watching hundreds of his female political supporters wear the pin on their bosom.
Got another possible theory? Leave it in the comments.
[Think Progress via Buzzfeed]