• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, January 6, 2009

Amazon is cashing in on the presidential inauguration by launching a store dedicated to sell stuff linked to the event on Jan. 20. Everything from night vision goggles to Stars & Stripes boxer shorts. Classy.

And local businesses and apartment subletters in Washington, D.C. are not the only ones trying to cash in on the upcoming presidential inauguration. Amazon.com and the Presidential Inauguration Committee have opened competing online stores selling souvenirs and other items tied to the Jan. 20 event expected to draw up to 2 million people to the nation's capital.

Both efforts are banking on the heightened level of anticipation and excitement surrounding the inauguration of the first African-American president to boost e-commerce activity.

"A lot of people will be participating in the upcoming inauguration, whether they are planning to attend the event or host a party at home," said Amazon.com spokesman Craig Berman in a statement Monday announcing the online retailer's temporary Inauguration Store. "We want to make it as easy as possible for customers to prepare for this historic event."

While the official 2009 Inaugural Store launched Sunday aims for a measure of dignity--hawking clothing, artwork and china embossed with the inaugural seal--Amazon's rival outlet shows no similar restraint.

It offers everything from digital cameras and winter gear for weathering the event in person to Stars & Stripes Patriotic Boxer Shorts and James Bond 007 Casino Royale sunglasses. In a category dubbed "Play Secret Service," it also features something called EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles for $79.99. The real Secret Service might take an interest in anyone sporting that type of eyewear at the inauguration.

"Our goal was to create a store that offers customers a central location to find the fun and humorous items along with the more serious and collectible items," said an Amazon.com spokesperson. The company, which is promoting the inauguration store on its home page, plans to keep the site up through Jan. 20.

In contrast to most other retailers, offline and online, Amazon.com recently said the 2008 holiday season was its best ever.

One could argue that the company's wider selection of inauguration gear better fits the small-d democratic theme for the event espoused by the incoming Obama Administration. The President-elect's primary ball on Inauguration Day will be a "Neighborhood Ball," providing free tickets to some D.C. residents and linking communities nationwide to the event via text messaging and the Web.

"This is an inauguration for all Americans," Obama said in a statement Monday. "I wanted to make sure that we had an event that would be open to our new neighborhood here in Washington, D.C., and also the neighborhoods across the country."

The President-elect's inaugural store is among the latest online initiatives launched by Obama, whose campaign broke new ground in using technology to build grassroots support and raise record amounts through Internet donations.