Who’s the scarier Halloween costume, Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?

October 29, 2012

Halloween is two days away. Have you decided on your costume yet?

Since it's an election year, political masks are popular.

The seasonal retailer Spirit Halloween says that Barack Obama masks
are outselling Mitt Romney masks 60 percent
to 40 percent in nearly all of the company's 1,000 stores.

Obama romney halloween masks

Internet orders are included in the tally. And the company also has an online ballot where Obama is leading (when I voted) with 76,803 votes to Romney's 35,731 votes. Write-in candidate Batman is a distant third with only 240 votes.

Spirit Halloween's final costumed consumer poll, aka sales of potential president masks, will be released a few days before the Nov. 6 election.

While merchandise sales information definitely isn't collected scientifically, Spirit Halloween spokeswoman Lisa Barr says the store's Presidential Index based on mask purchases has accurately predicted the winners of the last four presidential elections.

Of course, if we take into account all the mask possibilities maybe we're looking at a successful Zombie and Spiderman White House ticket.

Want to stay political, but you're not really into either presidential candidate? Maybe pretending to be one of the veep candidates, Joe Biden or Paul Ryan, is more appealing.

Or you can dress as:

  • Clint Eastwood and Invisible Obama. All you need is a scowl, low grumbling voice and a chair. I suggest, however, a lightweight chair so that you don't get tired from carrying it around all night.
  • Binder full of women. Get a group of your friends and link yourself together with metal ring bracelets. Just make sure they open easily because there are definitely times when you want to slip into your single sheet of paper persona.
  • Swing state of your choice. Dress in varying shades of red, blue or if polls show it's really close in purple.
  • An angry Tagg Romney. All you need is a suit, a nice head of dark hair (or wig) and boxing gloves.

If you want to take a financial approach to your costume, consider going as the fiscal cliff. Dress in gray to simulate a rocky crag and just sway and teeter as you make your party rounds. Of course, this might lead to you being cut off as your party host or local bartender might think you've already imbibed a few too many.

And then there's Sarah Kliff's Simpson-Bowles easy costume suggestion via Twitter:

Simpson Bowles wonk halloween costume via Sarah Kliff on Twitter

And with Hurricane Sandy's arrival just before Halloween, you might want to dress up in a weather-related outfit.

Whatever costume you choose, have fun and trick or treat safely.

You also might find these items of interest:

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Tax Season 2026 Continues!

We made it. Tax Day 2025 is finally over. For most of us. When the filing season started on Jan. 26, millions who were expecting refunds filed immediately. Most of us got our returns to the Internal Revenue Service by April 15. But plenty of taxpayers also got extensions. They are looking at an Oct. 15 filing deadline.

Those procrastinating filers aren’t a problem. In fact, the IRS appreciates taxpayers who take time to fill out their 1040 forms correctly. It also is grateful that tax submissions are spread out a bit, especially now that the IRS is a leaner agency. Processing returns is easier when they arrive throughout the year instead of in massive bunches.

But enough about Uncle Sam’s tax collection issues. The focus now is on all y’all who filed for extensions, giving you another six months to complete your return. Since your new mid-October due date will be here before you know it, let’s get started now on meeting it.

The ol’ blog is here to help you finish up your extended Form 1040. You can start with January’s tax tips page, which has links to the rest of the year’s tips by-month collections. You also can peruse various tax categories for more tailored advice by clicking on the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of this (and every) page.

And to make sure you don’t miss your new filing deadline, the count-down clock below will let you know just how much time you to file by Oct. 15. At the latest.e. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

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