MISHAWAKA — With just two weeks left until election day, there's no shortage of polls showing who supports who. But there is one "less scientific" poll that's picked the winner accurately for more than 30 years, and it could help "unmask" America's next president again this year too.
On television and the internet, in newspapers and magazine ads, Barack Obama and John McCain's faces have come to symbolize the hard fought battle that's shaped Campaign '08.
It's a race for the White House that some say is still too close to call.
But, at Fun F/X in Mishawaka, Victor Cao thinks he can call the race — no exit polls, Gallup polls, or polling places required!
"We can tell based on mask sales who's more likely to win," said Cao, co-owner of what's now become the nation's largest Halloween costume store by square footage. "So far, we've been pretty consistent!"
It's a trend Cao has seen before.
"In 2000 and 2004, we were selling more Bush [masks], and he won," he said while pointing to a wall of latex masks lining one side of the store.
"People come in to ask about the candidate masks more and more everyday," he added.
Carla Near is one of them.
She drove all the way from Cassopolis, Michigan just to buy an Obama mask.
"I know his stump speeches, so I can't wait to do them at our family party," she said with a laugh, while practicing one with the mask on in the store.
She's not alone.
Online polls now track sales of candidate masks. National costume chains are suddenly keeping a running tally. And, across Michiana, customers are trying to put their own face on politics too!
The question is, which face?
At Spirit Halloween in Mishawaka, there's no clear cut winner.
"Obama and McCain, it's 50-50 at the moment," said store manager Jim Jernigan.
But Fun F/X has a different tally.
"Obama is outselling McCain right now, I'd say 5 to 1," said Cao.
Same story at Halloween USA in Mishawaka, where Obama's latex masks are actually nowhere to be found!
"We've sold out of Obama, and we keep getting more and more requests for them," said assistant store manager Tiffany Barhydt.
As for the "latex version" of McCain?
"I don't think we've sold one McCain [mask] to tell you the truth," she said.
It's a growing trend, says Cao.
"Most places around the country are sold out of Obama masks," he said. "Even the manufacturer is sold out."
It's a similar story for this year's "dark horse" Halloween mask candidate.
"I have had a lot of requests lately of — did you get any [Sarah] Palin masks in? Unfortunately, the answer is no," said Jernigan.
"She was just announced so late that the manufacturers didn't have enough time to make mass quantities of them," said Cao.
Same goes for Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden.
"Nope, no Biden masks either," said Barhydt.
But, do the choices really mean anything, or are voters just "masking" their true intentions?
"Either they want to be [Obama's mask] because they're supporting him, or they want to make fun of him," said Barhydt. "It's hard to say which one."
Notre Dame Film, Television and Theater Professor Ted Mandell studies cultural trends in media.
He says it may not just be hard to predict the election this way, but, well, impossible!
"It's a poll of popular culture," he said. "So, it's a possibility [you could derive some meaning from it.] But, I think if we're going to predict the election results based on Halloween masks, then Hannah Montana might win!"
What the "mask poll" might accurately reflect, however, is how voters feel about the election.
"It says people are interested in politics. That's probably the most accurate thing it says," Mandell said. "But it could reflect more than that. When we have social gatherings like Halloween parties, it's an opportunity for people to express themselves in a little bit more aggressive way then they might normally. A mask is an easy way to do that."
And Near says that's exactly what she plans to do at her party.
"If that's happening all over, I think it would probably correlate with the vote then," she said.
It's one reason why even the "experts" admit this year's race could come down to the wire.
So they're taking the "safe pick" and hoping they don't end up looking like a "pig in lipstick" because of it.
"I'm going to go with Hannah Montana," repeated Mandell with a laugh. "It should be an interesting race!"
For more election headlines and voter resources, go to WSBT.com's Campaign ‘08 section.
