Backyard Politics: Benches for Barack

Here’s one way for Democrats to make a campaign contribution that promises immediate payback. For 40 bucks, Benches for Barack — a grassroots fundraiser advertised on lampposts and on Craigslist — will build you a garden bench. $25 goes toward building supplies and the remaining $15 gets donated to the Obama campaign.

A pair of bright neighborhood kids, 18-year-old high school grads Harry Fishbein and Emma Dillon, build these sturdy benches in the basement of Harry’s Cobble Hill home and cheerfully deliver them to doorsteps around Brooklyn, free of charge. The benches are 18 inches tall, 4 feet long, and about 10 inches wide, and turnaround is quick. We received ours, which is painted a muted sage green, within hours of sending an email to Benches for Barack.

Harry and Emma made their first sale on Friday June 20 and by time tomorrow’s deliveries are done, they’ll have sold 38 benches — enough to donate $570 to the campaign. They don’t have any furniture-making background, but during Harry’s high school career, he built “a suspension bridge out of cardboard and fishing line that could hold 800 pounds and was 25 feet long,” and “a 7 foot tall geodesic dome out of electrical conduit.” We’re not entirely sure what that means, but one can safely assume that the kid’s benches are gonna hold up.

They’ll be buidling benches and other custom carpentry projects — like wooden trash can containers, sheds, picnic tables, and kids’ bathroom stools — throughout the summer, but in the fall, Harry’s going to Lafayette for engineering and Emma’s heading to Tufts for international relations.