Presidential bid nipped in bud by eBay

Online auctioneer eBay has pulled an auction for the US Presidency from its site after jokers used it to satirise the real race for the White House.

Seventeen bids in all were placed for item number 497945868, which offered a chance to be sworn in as the 43rd US President on 20 January next year and even choose a running mate, for the princely sum of $30,100.

The figure dwarfs the estimated $3bn used by candidates Al Gore and George W Bush and their parties during the campaign for the White House, which now hinges on a recount in Florida, that is itself mired in fierce legal and constitutional controversy.

It's far from the first time eBay has become a channel for satirists during the campaign. One auction promised to supply 'The Missing BALLOT BOX Bush Gore'. The item was quickly pulled from eBay's database, in what has now become a regular procedure after joke items attract the attention of the auctioneer.

Legitimate auctions for election memorabilia are also raising surprisingly high bids. An early edition of the New York Post headlined 'Bush Wins!' was going for nearly $153, while a Miami Herald proclaiming 'Bush Wins It' was attracting bids of $255.

However, the prize item is the confusing voting form from Florida's Palm Beach, which Democrats claim was so badly laid out that voters spoiled their vote by mistake, and sits at the centre of the recount controversy. Sellers have optimistically set a price of $10 000 during bidding for examples of the Palm Beach ballot paper on eBay.