by David A. Fahrenthold (The Washington Post)

Yesterday, I wrote a story about an infamous example of a campaign spending money poorly. In 2008, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign in Iowa ran out of good ideas before they ran out of cash, and started to buy things they didn’t really need. Like $95,000 worth of deli sandwiches. And hundreds of new snow shovels, for their Iowa volunteers. Who — because they were Iowans — already had snow shovels.

 “It’s sort of like, ‘Yeah, I’ll take a snow shovel,’ ” Marisue Hartung, one Clinton volunteer, remembered thinking then. “But why?”

But that’s hardly the only time a presidential campaign has blown money on bad ideas. I asked my Post colleagues for other suggestions from the recent past, they came up with a few more:

Howard Dean’s orange hats. In 2004, the Vermont governor bought neon-orange hats for his new volunteers to wear while canvassing voters in Iowa. The idea, apparently, was to show how many volunteers really had. “The Iowa Perfect Storm: Grassroots for Dean,” the hats said. But in practice, the hats seemed to show how many of Dean’s volunteers were out-of-staters who didn’t know much about Iowa. They were aliens, whose hats made them even easier to spot.

Joe Lieberman’s “Joe Mobiles.” In 2004, Lieberman’s campaign wrapped a pair of cars in big pictures of his face anddrove them around New  Hampshire. They contributed to a feeling that Lieberman was running for president mainly so he could finally use a lifetime of stored-up “Joe” puns. The candidate talked about “Joementum” called his breakfastime meet-and-greets “A Cup of Joe” and drove around in a camper called the “Winneba-Joe.” In the end, however, Lieberman’s campaign in New Hampshire went…Joe-where. He came in fifth.

John Kerry’s “Kerry Graham” signs.  Also in 2004 — apparently a great year for terrible campaign ideas — Democratic nominee John F. Kerry was set to announce his vice-presidential running mate. Kerry picked then-Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), but his campaign printed up at least two other sets of campaign paraphernalia, with other nominees’ names on them. On the big day, however, some of the fake-out signs got mixed in with the real ones. So, at Kerry’s big rally, some fans wound up waving signs that said “Kerry Graham.” As in then-Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.). Who hadn’t been chosen. Which has to have been a funny feeling for Graham.

Mitt Romney’s embroidered airplane seat covers. In 2012, Republican nominee Mitt Romney had a campaign plane whose amenities included personalized, embroidered headrest covers for the candidate (his said “The Gov”) and staff. They were made of red faux suede. If a staffer changed seats on the plane, he or she could take the headrest cover with them. It was a small expense, in the scheme of things. But — as Romney and his staff sought to project a common touch — it probably didn’t help.

John Edwards’ $400-plus haircuts. (hat tip to Damenico Montanaro  of NPR). In 2007, the campaign of then-Sen. Edwards spent hundreds — up to $1,250 in one case — for a Beverly Hills stylist to fly out and cut the candidate’s hair. “I try to make the man handsome, strong, more mature and these are the things, as an expert, that’s what we do,” the stylist told the Post back then. It was nice hair. No argument here. But for a man campaigning to fix the gap between the “Two Americas,” it was the wrong message.

 “Butt Man” and “Baloney Man” (hat tip to the Twitter user@TrueDactsStated). No, not that kind of butt. In 1996, Clinton’s campaign made foam-rubber suits that looked like cigarette butts, and had campaign volunteers wear them to harass Republican Bob Dole. The point was to highlight Dole’s closeness to the tobacco industry. In Wisconsin that year, Republicans countered with “Baloney Man,” a lunchmeat-shaped mascot whose message was that Democrats were generally full of baloney. Butt and Baloney actually met once, at a Dole rally in Fox Point, Wisc., producing this incredible quote in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel  (from a local GOP official): “Butt Man is full of baloney. Baloney Man told me Butt Man tried to grab him.”

And….

And snow shovels and deli meats. Don’t forget to read the Post story that started this discussion. It’s about Hillary Clinton, Iowa, love, desperation, failure–and some of the most infamous bad ideas  that a campaign ever paid for.