Obama Re-Election Campaign’s Event Registry Draws Criticism

Melissa Knowles

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It's official. We are at the height of wedding season in America. But before you dart off to the local department store to buy your friends a gift from their registry, President Barack Obama's re-election campaign would like you to consider a new gifting option: the Obama Event Registry. Part of the description reads: "Instead of another gift card you'll forget to use, ask your friends and family for something that will go a little further." The description goes on to suggest donating the money you would have used for your friends' gift to the Obama re-election campaign in their honor.

The registry is now available online, and it suggests that donating does not have be limited to weddings. It could be for any event from birthdays to graduations and even bar mitzvahs. The website even gives couples suggested wording when asking for the gifts. For example, it has, "I'm making it easy on you. Instead of falling back on a gift card -- or cash -- you can give to my Obama 2012 fundraising page." The website also says that a monetary donation "goes further than a gravy bowl."

Reaction on Twitter has been mostly negative, with many people calling the fundraising tactic "tacky." Several people said, "You've got to be kidding me." But one person is taking the lighter side of it, saying, "Send your toasters to the White House." Even late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel got in on the fun with a fake Obama registry ad.

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A World War II veteran has been reunited with the dog tags he lost in battle more than 67 years ago. U.S. Marine John Joseph Keker, originally from Chicago, had been stationed in the Solomon Islands from 1942 to 1945. He did not know when he misplaced his dog tags. Keker said, "They were always getting caught on things. I was a kid and didn't think about it much. We all lost our tags."

Fast-forward several decades later. Australian soldier Shane Fender was stationed in the Solomon Islands, and while visiting a local house, he saw a box of dog tags. Among others inside, he found the dog tags belonging to John Keker. Fender searched the Internet for details about the men whose tags he had found. After getting in touch with the Marine Raiders Association, he was given contact information for the now 88-year-old Marine.

Keker said he first heard from Fender a couple of months ago. At first he thought Fender was a "wisecracker," but then he realized the young man was serious. Keker received his tags in the mail a week ago, and Fender said he is going to continue trying to return all of the lost dog tags he stumbled upon. "My goal is to get them all home where they belong," Fender said.