Political Players Are in the Cards

Politicians collect supporters like some people collect baseball cards. Now the tables are being turned. The Upper Deck baseball card company unveils special-edition insert cards this week that feature caricature parodies of the White House contenders and hot election-year issues. Illustrating the healthcare debate, one card shows Hillary Clinton in a tense standoff with John McCain a la New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens and New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza during the 2000 World Series. The Iraq card shows Obama, a base runner, and John McCain, a catcher, in a donnybrook. "We have both sides of the coin: Barack versus McCain and Hillary versus McCain," says Terry Melia of Upper Deck. "We have covered the bases, so to speak."