As reported by the Blaze earlier today, CBS News's online store is selling seven different Obama-related items, but complementary Republican merchandise is suspiciously absent. The online store includes paperback and hardback copies of Obama's memoir, "Dreams From My Father," and five memorabilia books and DVDs of his campaign and election.
When the Blaze looked into the matter, CBS News had even dedicated an entire tab of its store to the president. The category has since been removed, but searching "Obama" in the online store still returns all the merchandise. When the items are clicked on, though, shoppers are redirected to the online store's home page. Such activity raises the question of why seven different pro-Obama items were for sale alongside CBS News mugs, tote bags, and t-shirts, while not a single piece of Republican merchandise can be found in the store.
Before the separate "Barack Obama" tab was taken down, a note at the bottom of the page read,
CBS News t-shirts and CBS News hoodies will show you’re a true newshound. And don’t forget all the latest DVDs and books with historical significance. Choose from 60 Minutes Barack Obama DVDs, Barack Obama books and other timely tales with national importance.
Upon searching for "politics," "Republicans," "Democrats," "president," "Bill Clinton," "George Bush," "conservative," "liberal," and "memoir," the only other politician that showed up was Ted Kennedy for his memoir, "True Compass." His memoir was also previously listed under the Barack Obama tab. Surely, those are not the only two politicians that can be considered of "historical significance" or of "national importance."
When the Blaze contact CBS for a comment on the excess of Obama merchandise,
...[N]o one initially knew who was in charge of the store, or indeed, that one existed. One woman even asked, “There’s a CBS News online store?”
After several hours being bounced around through various departments, CBS directed The Blaze to a spokesman for CBS Interactive, the arm that manages the network’s online content. [...]
In a statement, the spokesman said the merchandise posted for sale was a mistake by the store’s third-party provider and would be taken down: “It has come to our attention that merchandise unrelated to CBS News was inadvertently made available by our third-party provider on the webpage that is located in the CBS Interactive online store. The items will be removed. We’d like to thank The Blaze for their vigilance in this important matter.”
Still, the fact that any other political merchandise was unavailable in the online store, especially when the political merchandise creates a profit for the president, calls into question the allegiance of CBS News to Obama.
