Big Boards

Not since the early '70s, when the last billboard on Napeague came to the end of a five-year grace period and was taken down in keeping with a forward-looking town law, have there been as many roadside signs around as there are this month. From Wainscott to Montauk they have sprouted, mainly along Route 27 but on front lawns, side streets, and back roads as well. Others are in store windows or on trees but most are planted in the ground or rising up from the beds of pickup trucks.

They are, of course, soldiers in the election campaign, and, therefore, like everything else in politics, ephemeral, which is some small comfort. But why are there so many of them this year, and why have they grown bigger than they used to be?

Brightly colored placards with party slogans or photos of beaming candidates, just like buttons, palm cards, funny hats, and other political paraphernalia, are an American tradition going back at least as far as Tippecanoe, a harmless one that, if nothing else, has spawned a thriving industry in collectibles. Put your name and face in front of the voters often enough and they'll remember it whether they want to or not, or so the theory goes.

Will they, however, go into the booth in November and pull the lever for you just because your name or grin on the highway was bigger than your opponent's? Unlike the signs, that remains to be seen.