WASHINGTON - THE tradition of politicians kissing babies along the campaign trail has gone virtual, with a new website that jokingly urges parents to mail their babies to White House hopeful Barack Obama for a smooch.
'Barack travels a lot, but many babies live in places he hasn't been. That's why he's now accepting babies by mail,' says the website sendbarackyourbaby.com, created by a history student in California.
'Send him your baby, and he'll kiss it and send it back to you ... in about 14 business days.'
The site, which received 29,000 hits in its first two weeks, offers three options: 'When your baby arrives, Barack will give it your choice of a kiss, a hug, or hope.'
Site creator Kareem Shaya, of the northern California town of Mountain View, described the venture as just for fun, even though he does list the presumptive Democratic nominee's actual campaign address on the website.
'The point is not to make a political statement, it's just a silly joke,' he said, adding that 'hopefully' no real babies have been mailed.
Mr Shaya admits he briefly considered doing a similar version for Republican John McCain, 71, who hopes to beat Mr Obama for the presidency in the November election.
'I don't know,' he said. 'It seemed less plausible with John McCain.' -- AFP
