Barack, you’re the man. At least according to the “voters” who visit the St. Joseph Museum’s “Buttons, Banners and Flags: Electioneering in America” exhibit.

A part of the exhibit features a map where visitors can place either a blue or red star on their state to vote for their presidential candidate.

“Blue is for Barack Obama, and red is for John McCain,” says Sarah Elder, curator of collections at the museum.

And with Missouri covered in a majority of blue, John McCain may be seeing red — or perhaps he should hope to see a lot more red on that map.

The name of the exhibit sums up a lot of what the exhibit is about. There are election buttons, banners and even a pink hat that one St. Joseph delegate worn during the 1940s era among the memorabilia on display. There are sections devoted to “Path to the Presidency,” “Presidential Powers” and “Voting Rights.” Even the Buchanan County Courthouse got into the act, Elder says. They loaned several election related items.

“We have a locked ballet box made from an old lard can,” Elder says.

Amy Grier, director of education at the museum, designed the exhibit to appeal to both adults and children.

She especially wanted things that children could touch because there are “so many things in a museum that they can’t touch.”

The “voting” map is one such interactive feature of the exhibit. Another one has visitors guessing the previous occupations of our presidents.

American Girl doll lovers will notice that even the popular toys are included in the exhibit. Each doll features a letter written by or to the doll (Grier authored the letters) detailing the political atmosphere of the time period the dolls represents.

The exhibit even has a beat, featuring campaign songs from George Washington to Bill Clinton, Elder says. Anybody for a little Fleetwood Mac?

The exhibit will run through Dec. 1 at the museum at 3406 Frederick Ave. For more information, hours and admission, call the museum at 232-8471 or log on to www.stjosephmuseum.org.