I know this is mostly humorous, and a fluff piece to boot, but I don't know what to make of the whole idea. This isn't the late eighties or early nineties, when our news media was pretty homogenised and came to us through one or two tiny, well-refined tubes. We had dedicated political coverage in the papers, a modicum of political discussion on television, and a few dedicated political magazines. So when Clinton did the whole Arsenio Hall thing, it was effective not only because Clinton looked cool, but because the youth of America realised this is a guy breaking the conventions (if not the rules) of politics.

But as our technology has become massively more complex and useful, our very ideas about what is news or what is conventional media-- those have changed. Everything is mainstream now, because there's nowhere to hide. What are they going to do? Put McCain's office on uStream? Start campaigning against DRM? Anything they can do that would explicitly cater to people like us would be counterproductive because it would be far, far too limited. There really aren't many tricks the politicians can pull out to sway gamers-- at least, nothing as obvious as what Clinton managed to do. You can't go outside of convention, now, because convention no longer exists. Print media is dead. Television, while not dead, is certainly not the fortress of culture it used to be-- many people, and not just young people, have left television behind entirely for the safety and relative diversity of user-defined web content. And none of that-- none of these new cultural touchstones-- are appropriated solely for the youth of America. Games aren't even the secluded hobby they used to be-- they're a business as big as the motion picture industry.

Politicians now can only focus on the issues. Not gamer issues, not things like do the kids think it's cool if I say 'fap' on the air, but national, and global issues. Because those matter to us. And we need to stop looking at the gamer community like it's anything more than an incidental meeting place for regular people. Our hobby is now a global pastime. We're out in the light.

wild homes gets retconned!

Additional plans include having Diebold voting machines greet each voter by saying, "BEWARE, I LIVE."

Ubik2501

If McCains campaign line was 'its a me a McCain! things would be a lot different in the elections campaign!

excel_excel

@thezman: Yeah, god forbid that people's votes are influenced by the candidate's positions on matters of great importance to them.

Mister Adequate

i banish him to the plains of oblivion and kill him with my magicka powers :D

ZetaCrossfire

@thezman: I think video gamer producers and gun makers would disagree with you.

TaggarT6

What they need to do is offer phat epic loot for voting.

I can't wait to see a horde of gamers "farming" a poll machine. Granted I only think that's legal in Detroit where even the dead vote more then once.

TaggarT6

Voting for someone based on their views on video games is just about as stupid as basing your vote on whether or not they're pro-gun or not.

thezman

I wouldn't reserve it.

AndrewG009

Honestly, I read that as "screw up the 'Gamer Vote'".

Well, they've already done that.

Ignatius

Other than censorship, regulation, and certain sales restrictions, there isn't much the traditional "gamer" could care about - at least regarding their treasured medium.

As much as I want to talk about the economy, health care, foreign policy, and domestic social programs, I know in my heart that I'll vote for whoever uses "pwned" in a sentence first.

Just kidding: I have Obama's back.

vanderblade

meh... It's alright.

ReconToaster

John Mccain skin in UT 3 anyone?

udiie

Agreed. I had a good chuckle. :D

TheBakachan

It's the Gamestop line that completes this one. Nicely done.

Marikir

They tried this with the "Wrestling Vote" and look how it turned out:

+ Watch video

+ Watch video

+ Watch video

Yea, that's not embarrassing at all...

dry-roasted-peanuts

If they could all just talk about what they genuinely plan to do if elected instead of pandering to demographics, I'd be happy.

Guild_Navigator

Politicians will win the gamer vote when they don't want to determine what I can play in my own living room.

hansamurai

@until.december: Dream on my friend, dream on.

Jayl3w

@Beelzebozo: Actually from what I've caught (not a whole lot, mind) he's not that fond of games, TV, or digital entertainment in general. He's got that whole family values thing going on.

Not that he's against games, just doesn't really appreciate them either.

Jayl3w

Want to know the sure fire for a politician to get support from the gaming masses? "Upon entering the White House I will propose a bill that guarantees the government will stay out of the affairs of games in the same way we stay out of the affairs of art, movies, and literature. I trust the ESRB and will instead seek to educate parents so that they know when a video game is appropriate or inappropriate for their children."

Sigh, we can dream can't we?

until.december

The thing is that most of us can see Obama playing games, even a Wii. You can't see McCain doing the same thing.

Beelzebozo

Flood suffrage now!

mind in rewind

I wish I could see a single candidate worth voting for (for my sake, anyways) but, alas, never happens. I was all okay with Obama until I started catching wind of the possibility for Clinton to be his VP.

Not that it REALLY matters though. The actual elections to decide who will gain the presidency isn't decided by the majority vote of the public, instead it's decided by a group of politicians who are supposed to be voting the way his delegates want, but doesn't actually HAVE to.

Meh, politics get old to me fast, I probably wont even know who gets it till a year later, primarily because I don't really care.

As long as they leave games alone, I'm happy.

Jayl3w

I think this says all you need to know about John McCain and how he might approach games:

+ Watch video

elpflasa

@dry-roasted-peanuts: Obama said Randy Orton and King of the Ring and if you smell what the Obama is cooking...I can relate to that!

excel_excel

Why are gamers consistently put down as a simple-minded group whose only concern is the content of video games?

U.S. gamers suffer through the same problems of a massive deficit, enormous national debt, a devalued dollar, a planet in peril, a widening gap between the ultra-rich and the very poor, an abhorrently expensive and pointless war, a country that has lost both its respect and admiration from other nations, a country that has trounced on every right that it once so cherished in the name of "fighting terrorism", etc., a country that is now financially controlled by foreign interests, a country that has sold out its most basic protections for its people to "grow the economy" so I think that most gamers can certainly see beyond their own small circle of gaming to address far more important issues.

Of course, being an engineer, McCain has no chance of ever getting even a consideration from me. He is using CARLY FIORINA as an ECONOMIC ADVISER! The woman who has earned the title the "WORST CEO IN (Silicon) VALLEY HISTORY". The woman who said "Outsourcing is the future, get used to it!" while HP was struggling to keep its favorable image among engineers. I care far more about my future and the future of both my country and my planet than anything gaming related.

Maybe I am just too old and experienced to be considered a gamer.

bornonce

@elpflasa: I'd say the stance he took on UFC and the decent probability of a McCain/Leiberman ticket is even more telling.

dry-roasted-peanuts

and now for a politician who doesn't think the internet is a series of tubes:

+ Watch video

only the first few minutes are relevant technology-wise

elpflasa

a little more on net neutrality and its importance (yeah, it doesn't DIRECTLY affect us as gamers, but I think all of us are pretty aware of just how important the net is to oursocial lives as gamers; where else are ya gonna flame idiots?)

+ Watch video

elpflasa

more relevant (and short):

+ Watch video

elpflasa

@Ubik2501: WIN!

BigMoose

All your votes are belong to me!

- Bonkerjerks '08

Bonkerjerks

@Jayl3w:

My reading of his words is that, while he enjoys modern entertainment and definitely understands it better than most of the other presidential candidates, he is a strong believer of getting off your butt and doing something and feels a life spent playing video games is wasted.

Beelzebozo

in regards to mccain

NEEDS MORE PIG INVADERS

Beximus

Simply put, celebratory teabagging of your defeated opponent after each debate will secure the gamer vote. However, care must be taken so as not to cross the line between "omg, great kill" to "douchebag."

Zero_Beat

@bornonce: Every possible categorization of human beings is treated this way.

Moonshadow101

I'm liking that Big boss for president idea. Free metal gears and eye patches for everyone

Oceanbones

It's unsettling to read through the comments on this topic and see the sophomoric humor barely covering a general malaise about the current political process. I'm glad that Hilary is out of the race because of her view on gaming, and I wouldn't vote for McCain because of the whole Family Values history. I hope that Obama is laissez faire (hands off) in regards to video games and all forms of first amendment rights. The only thing that I ask of anyone in office is to protect free speech in all of its forms, from literature, to porn, to games. Just remember the country that you're leading and why we love the place, and we'll follow you.

masterdingo

I don't think McCain even knows about video games. I can just imagine him saying something like: "Yeah, my great-grandchildren keep going on about this gamebox ds that they want this Christmas. I went to try and find it, but it wasn't at any of the Sears that I went to, so oh well. More oranges it is!"

On the other side, I totally believe that Obama has a sick gaming rig that he brings along on the campaign trail. He is that surprisingly cool, from what I hear. Once, on "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," he called a reporter that he had accidentally spurned during said reporter's flirtation with a lady friend. He apologized for "hurting his game." Yup. Awesome.

Ajax

Trust me, going on Xbox Live is NOT going to get anything done. Not for me, not for you, not for a politician. Not for anyone.

Pi-face