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Barack Obama's Sweet Ride

Posted by Bob Mackey

In news that would have been Onion-worthy satire a mere 4 years ago, Giga Omni Media reports that Sen. Barack Obama has moved his presidential campaign to the world of virtual death racing in Burnout Paradise.  That's right; instead of only seeing billboards for places to buy large, overpriced electronics, driving through the streets of Paradise City may also serve as a reminder that you live in a democracy, and may be asked to get off your ass once every four years. 

But, as the article indicates, this move to in-game advertising may be a tad contradictory when compared to comments previously made by the senator:

Of course, detractors could accuse Sen. Obama of sending out mixed messages; earlier this year he was telling audiences that parents need to “turn off the television set, and put the video games away.” Then again, since the Burnout billboard specifically advises gamers to vote early, maybe it’s his subtle way of trying to get them off the couch.

Since I spend most of my life on a college campus, I can tell you that there's a huge push--primarily from Obama supporters--to vote early.  This movement seems entirely motivated by the problem of young voter turnout; I've been told horror stories about long lines on November 4th, with the implicit message that I could be too drunk or high to negotiate said lines on election day.  Given the flux of my personal life, they may be right; but I actually enjoy participating in democracy first-hand--along with any other activities that involve standing in a booth. No Disneyland-esque wait will stop me from pretending that I matter.

There's been no word yet on whether or not Ralph Nader's campaign will be using a similar strategy, but I'm still trying to get into his WoW guild. He owes me for that 2000 vote.


+ DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT

Comments

Roto13 said:

People keep taking that Obama quote to mean he's anti-video games, and not just anti-not doing homework. Anyone old enough to vote should be old enough not to need their parents to watch their gaming habits for them anyway. Or they probably shouldn't vote at all.

October 14, 2008 9:49 PM

Ursula said:

I don't think it's hypocritical either. If a friend was morbidly obese and you told them to put down the damn Big Mac and start eating healthy, that doesn't automatically mean you're totally against Big Macs.

October 18, 2008 9:10 AM

About Bob Mackey

For a brief period of time I was Bull from TV's Night Court, but some of you may know me from the humor column I wrote for Youngstown State University's The Jambar, Kent State University's The Stater, and Youngstown's alternative newspaper, The Walruss. I'm perhaps most well-known for my bi-weekly pieces on Something Awful. I've also blogged for Valley24.com and have written articles for EGM, 1UP, GameSpite and Cracked. For all of my writing over the years, I have made a total of twenty American dollars. It's also said that I draw cartoons, which people have described with words such as "legible." I kidnapped the Lindbergh Baby and am looking to do so again in the future.

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John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Hooksexup, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.


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