Candidate cookies at Jefferson Market & Cakery. The Chronicle did not ask why McCain's name is printed and Obama is written in cursive.

Combining politics and buttercream frosting – brilliant!

Jefferson Market & Cakery’s Cookie Vote ’08 pits Obama against McCain in the form of sugar cookies iced with red, white and blue frosting and emblazoned with each candidate’s name. As of Wednesday afternoon, Obama was outselling McCain by 66 to 5.

And those 5 cookies might have been bought as jokes, says Melissa Katke. (As in, “Ha! I wonder if I can get him to stomach McCain!”)

Katke kindly took a few minutes out of her behind-the-counter work to explain things to The Chronicle. Owner Mary Rasmussen came up with the idea, and they made the first batch about a week ago. Initially, they made equal numbers for both candidates.

“There’s lots of McCain cookies in the freezer,” Katke says.

The cookies cost $1.50 each and will be sold until the Nov. 4 election.

Cookie Vote '08 tally at Jefferson Market & Cakery.

The Chronicle envisions an even larger market opportunity here: 1) To sell items that aren’t flying off the shelves, just write “Obama” in icing on the piece of cake or container of soup or whatever, and see what happens. 2) The Fifth Ward, where Jefferson Market is located, has a contested city council election in November as well – how about a “Hohnke” vs. “Floyd” cookie-off? This being Ann Arbor, though, the icing for that should be green.

Jefferson Market & Cakery

Address: 609 W. Jefferson St.

Phone: 734.665.6666

Hours: Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Even on the tray, Obama beats McCain.

Posted on the wall next to the coffee carafes at the The Jefferson Market and Cakery

Absent the flyer – complete with tear-off tabs – posted at the Jefferson Market, The Chronicle would have missed the photo contest sponsored by Natural Area Preservation (NAP).

Photos will be judged in two categories: “Nature up Close” and “Spirit of the Seasons.” NAP has recruited judges for the contest who can bring specific expertise to bear on these categories. When it comes to assessing the merits of a detail shot, a professional entomologist and “bug photographer” like David Cappaert should be qualified to judge. And whether a shot adequately captures the mood of a season is a question that Donald Werthmann can answer – he’s a digital photographic artist on the faculty of Washtenaw Community College. Rounding out the panel of judges is Daniel Borneman, who is manager of NAP.

Entry in the Youth Category (K-12) is free, while the Adult Category requires a $10 fee. Photos must have been shot locally. It’s worth pointing out that the rules of submission bridge the divide between the analog and digital world. Entrants must submit digital files on CD or DVD (in CMYK color mode) as well as physical prints (between 5 x 5 and 8 x 10 inches). Contest Submission Form (.pdf file)