I'm not here to get political because this isn't what this is about but it's cool that Obama is doing well.

He looks quite young in that picture, it would be interesting to see McCain doing the same thing NOT.

Whoever is president (please be Obama) I hope they do a good job. :D

Adisah

my opinion on the matter assuming McCain was an actual conservative and not Bush 2.0, i would think most gamers would want a conservative president because a true conservative president is gonna push for small government which equals less government censorship and control of what games we can and cant play

stryker1800

Makes sense, young people tend to be much more liberal and left wing oriented. I'm surprised McCain got such a high percentage, I would have expected him to get destroyed. The problem with this survey is that it's not a truly random sample of the population.

fdisk

@CrypticMetaphor: Yes, but the people who take the time to participate in an Xbox Live political poll are probably a more mature demographic than the people shouting racist remarks and trying to teabag everything that moves. I could be wrong, but it's just a guess.

DugDawg

I have yet to meet a person that is voting for obama based on his experience or actual accomplishments. The mtv generation is gonna screw us come this election.

97gsx

All of the "other"s are Ron Paul. Just saying.

Quicksilver4648

"take it for what it's worth" Which ain't much. Anyway great pic

Nickatiah

Obama seems so down to Earth. o_o

A ploy, or a President that cares?

As for LIVE......

...We're talking about the same one plagued with kids that told me to go back to Africa, right?

remanance

Like how exactly was this data collected? Downloading pictures or something? If it wasn't scientific, its about as worthless as any quickpoll on the Internet. I actually hadn't even heard about this until now, so either I'm out of the target demographic (ie: I pay attention to begin with and don't watch MTV) or I just totally missed it when I was on the road.

Nik in NOLA

Lawl at pic

Ps3PokemonFanboy

@CrypticMetaphor: but by saying that you're making a bigoted assumption about those that play live.

Spoony Bard

I'll vote Obama. Not because he's the savior of mankind, or even because I believe a word he says. I'll vote for Obama because people like him abroad, and that will help our economy in a very tangible way.

Balius

@yashichi8bit:
What makes you so sure it is more accurate? Have you personally done a study on this?
Also, this is a poll amongst mostly male 18-24 gamers... A voting bracket that fails to get out and vote often... And only one of many groups, most of which not represented on this poll.

Demonbird

@GyrFal:
That 13 percent probably includes "Non-voter."

Psudonym

@Demonbird:

It merits my personal generalization

SolidOni

@SolidOni:
Ok, then we both have personal cases. Different personal experience. Doesn't merit the generalization.

Demonbird

@yashichi8bit: Remember, people responding to the poll are self-selected, that is, there is something about them that motivated them to respond versus those people who didn't. Further, you get to choose the people you associate with, so if you are for Obama, it makes sense that you would be friends with people who are pro-Obama as well. If you're a 20 year old gamer guy, its unlikely you would be friends with a 57 year old female, for example.

I'm pro-Obama as many other gamers seem to be, but we need to not become complacent at the perceived state of the race. Personally, I trust the polls as being representative of the election as it is now, with Obama doing a bit better than he would in a private ballot election, because people who are randomly called by a polling organization will probably feel some pressure to not reveal racist feelings to a pollster - saying they are pro-Obama but actually voting McCain in the actual election.

zeroraveson

@DugDawg: That picture admittedly scared the bejesus out of me.

ArgentAngel

@Demonbird:
The way most gamers act around me you would think differently :\

SolidOni

@GyrFal: @SolidOni:

Where do you get the info that "most gamers are liberal" from? I happened to pick other because they both set off my bullshit detector.

I wonder how many people would have voted for other if they didn't have to go and SEARCH for the gamer pic. It wasn't in the advertisement "rock the vote" sidebar, you had to look for it the long way if you even KNEW it was an available choice.

There aren't that many people running for president. This would have been a perfect opportunity to introduce voters to those other people who had to get millions of voters to back them just to get on the ballot, but can't get any media publicity. How hard would it have been to make 4 or 5 extra gamer pictures? "Rock the Vote" my ass.

peacefuloutrage

@GyrFal: @SolidOni:

Really? My experience is that the gaming community is generally apathetic more than anything else. Granted, if I went with what I hear on Halo or CoD, I'd say the gaming community is mostly bigoted, sexist, gun-crazy conspiracy theorists on the fringe of reality.

And somewhere between 14 and 16, since they're the ones I hear screaming that crap the most.

Nik in NOLA

Yeah, gamers are that younger, liberal, Obama crowd. I was actually expecting a larger lead for Obama from a group like this. Don't forget that a lot of the non-voting population (all those kiddies under 18) probably voted too. Let me tell you, they sure aren't for McCain either.

BluFire

@SolidOni:
Really?
I'm not too sure about that. I know plenty conservative gamers. It isn't like being conservative makes you not like games.

Demonbird

lol at fact that's actually a jalopnik.com (owned by gawker media) picture.

netMASA

@mikethespike9: I dont see anything wrong with his post. In fact its pretty good.

yashichi8bit

1. How many of those people are under 18?
2. How many of them are going to actually vote?
3. In a race this close polls are 100% meaningless

taftsearlobe33

/McCain

I wish they would stay away from politics. Politics is like this kinda of oil that is polar to everything.

Schoolimangooli's backpack turns into a ham sandwich!

Haha, that girl doesn't look happy! Too bad I wasn't awair of this poll, because I would've put my two cents in for Mccain. Um, politics won't get your comment disemvoweled, right? :D
@heavystabb3r: Yeah, you make a great point.

CmdrBladeHearts

Ron Paul was a Meme, Obama is a Celebrity, and the government is McCain's service.

Thank you for your time, and good night.
I kid, I kid.

The results are interesting to say the least, but let's not be quick to write off all gamers on the account of being lax and lazy buffoons with nothing to contribute to society....

...That's the media's job, not ours.

Trygle12

This gets posted on Ban Hammer Monday?

mikethespike9

@GDW1017: Likewise, that's a somewhat sizable "other" category, which could be answered with the...with the...with the sort of answers I'd rather not simulate the proffer of on a Banhammer Monday.

Slatz_Grobnik

@DrunkRaba: damn no edit, awesome picture though!

DrunkRaba

were they even capable of voting? as in 18 or older? I didn't see anything about that in the article. If not, who cares what the kiddies want for a president?

DrunkRaba

@heavystabb3r: last. ever.

Sandbox_Emperor

Well, the gaming community tends to lean towards the liberal side, so I'm not surprised.

But who's willing to bet that the 13 percent of Other is for Ron Paul still?

GyrFal

Most gamers are liberal, no surprise here.

SolidOni

I'm surprised Obama is in the lead. I mean, on average, it only takes about an half hour of playing XBox Live to get a feeling of xenophobia.

Then again, only 100,000 users took this, so this is probably a "minority", "majority" position... yeah, that sounds right!

GDW1017

@Tilimorf: im with you man i downloaded the pic, got the email to register to vote but still haven't done it. man im lazy... i guess the main reason is cause either way this goes we are still stuck with a giant douche and a turd sandwich for candidates for the presidency just like in south park.

Milkzhakes

@CrypticMetaphor: who's the bigot now!?!? muahahha i keed i keed

subterfunk

If playing Team Fortress 2 with mics on has taught me anything, it's that some gamers love Ron Paul. A LOT. So I'm guessing that's what most of the 13% for Other is.

Holy crap that's an amazing photo.

tehawesome

I just hope a lot of young people actually vote for once. Don't let biased reps and old people decide our next president, because young people talk a lot, but when Nov 4 rolls around. They stay home playing XBL.

+ Watch video

Orionsaint

Just how the hell does this make any sense? Xbox Live is full of complete racist bitgots, yet they want Obama OVER McCain? I'm for Obama 100%, but wtf?

CrypticMetaphor

@XeroKool: more likely it will be a Tintype of him playing hoop and stick. tee hee

icarusprime

Lol that pic is so money.

Frologic

Obama clearly rules at PGR.

DukeOfPwn

Obama remembers Atari.

Mccain remembers the Spanish Inquisition.

InHumanGamer

Great picture, regardless of your political ideology.

DugDawg

the sample might be bigger, by alot *but* these are only gamers, not a good representation of the overal population.

Not that I wouldn't be happy with these results :)

QC8472

These seem to be more accurate than the "evenly divided" race we are hearing about. I live in a republican state but more than 2/3s of everyone I have talked to have told me they are voting for barack before mccain.

yashichi8bit

@UNDERSTAR: Was there any point to this comment? No.

Balthasar

haha. that's such an awesome picture. you guys are now my news source for the election. screw CNN, etc. I want more bumper carts!

bangbangblah

@Tilimorf: I completely agree. I hate to say it, but many gamers are slave to trends, and will probably follow what their dumb little buddies are saying on XBL; if they vote at all, it'll probably be for whoever's running the flashiest ad campaign.......

heavystabb3r

....Black Joker?

Neo-Senku: The World's Finest Pervert

@yashichi8bit:
I concur my good sir!

UNDERSTAR

@heavystabb3r:
Banned! (or Disemvoweled)

So, 13,000 people are undecieded? I bet you anything these are the people who love to complain alot but do nothing to solve the problem.

NiGHTSSTUDiO

that is actually the greatest picture ever. Look at the little girl's face then look at Obama's...classic! just classic

last_dread

@heavystabb3r: <--- "ability to comment is not enabled."

icarusprime

That's an awesome pick. You should find one with McCain riding a wagon.

XeroKool

I was for McCain, but after this epic pic, I'm for Obama all the way. (Just joking).

alecpyron

hmmm...... what a shock, people aged 18-35 are mostly for Obama!

heavystabb3r

That is a badass picture. I want a pres who can have that much fun on the bumper cars (among other things of course).

the_roman_nose

@heavystabb3r: bad day for one of those comments.

yashichi8bit

lulz at the pic

shahmastert

Gamers Unite to pick te President? I bet most of them won't even vote for reals.

Tilimorf

n bfr th pltcl flm bgns.

UNDERSTAR

frst

heavystabb3r

aside from every other problem with this survey... samples that aren't random are absolutly positively meaningless...

ThisIsJackBauer

@97gsx:

Nice to meet you, 97gsx. I am voting for Obama. Now you know of someone that is.

BeetMkr10

I really, really hope that Obama wins the election. I would be quite upset if McCain (aka Bush pt. 2) pulls it out. McCain has voted with Bush 90% of the time, and that is just something we as a nation cannot take for another term.

BeetMkr10

"According to Microsoft, almost 100,000 LIVE Americans participated in this LIVE survey, making it larger than combined samples from Gallup or NBC polls."

That's an amazingly terrible statement. I mean, yeah, it's PR, but still... whoop de do. Aside from the obvious (the average age of an Xbox Live user is consistent with, on average, more liberal ideals; meanwhile, many of those who took the poll are non-voters, or are lying to appear as if they agree with their friends, or are not old enough to vote in the first place, or are non-residents, blah blah blah), of course that's more people than would be sampled for legitimate polls. First off, it would be ridiculously time-consuming for a polling organization to contact that many people; second, eventually, a sample size is considered "too large", and while that is usually around 10% (and 100,000 is nowhere near 10% of the amount of people who will vote on November 4), it's still far too many for a practical opinion poll.

Jeez, what an unnecessary comment. Sometimes, I'm simply that annoyed by PR.

Also, as I'm currently a volunteer for Obama, let me just say: educate yourselves, people. I'd rather someone be informed on all the issues and vote for McCain than blindly vote for Obama... but I'd much, much, much rather someone be fully informed and vote for Obama.

kicking222

@97gsx: McCain and Obama have nearly identical agendas. So no matter who votes what -- the "MTV generation" with Obama or the "crazy-Christian white folks" with McCain -- the outcome will be the same: the country going to shit.

MrMcdoobie: I don't do drugs

Lets not forget how many people on XBL that probably can't even legally vote. So it doesn't matter all that much...

rexor0717

@Demonbird: I'm one of those conservative gamers; and by conservative, I mean real Libertarian conservative, not "McCain conservative" (if such a thing exists).

MrMcdoobie: I don't do drugs

@97gsx:

I'm encouraged that a lot of people aren't voting based on the difference in experience between the two. History has clearly shown us that a person's experience in politics is in no way an indicator of his success as President. Some of our greatest presidents had the same amount of experience or less than Obama, including Washington, Adams, Wilson, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Lincoln, for example. Meanwhile, some of the most politically experienced presidents have been some of the worst to hold the office.

It might be counter-intuitive, but history has been pretty clear. If one cares to look, that is.

Bishmon

@97gsx:
Indeed. It's crazy how uneducated people still get to vote, they should add a small test before voting or something.

Seita

The majority of the XBL community isn't old enough to vote anyways. lol

DNAgent

I'd like to ask those percentages why they voted for their candidate of choice. Doesn't matter who wins, both have nearly identical agendas -- if you fail to see it, do your research.

MrMcdoobie: I don't do drugs

Yea, I am actually surprised Obama came out on top of this survey, considering the kind of people on xbox live =)

telekinesis

OBAMA 2008 !!!!

Videogames = Technology
Technology = Science
Sarah Palin = Creationist
Creationist = No Science
No Science = No Videogames
No Videogames = Sad sad nerds

haha just playing guys... be sure to register and vote!!!

Jedi-iLLmatic

@Sloopydrew: I downloaded all of the gamerpics . . . hmm.

DugDawg

@taftsearlobe33:
1. Well judging how you have to have an adult LIVE account to see banner ads, which is where I saw the political info, I would assume most of the people who voted are actually 18 or older.
2. Who knows, I can't predict the future.
3. There is a 35% chance your statistic (and mine) was completely made up.

Quicksilver4648

@yashichi8bit: no, nothing's wrong with it at all, its a good post. but this other guy was right, its a great, great topic to bring out the roaches on banhammer day. we just need another RE5 racial controversy, and we could clean house.

TheIrishNinja

I "voted" Obama by downloading his gamerpic (which I currently use and will use through Nov. 4th). But -- I liked the "Undecided" gamerpic so downloaded that as well. So did my vote count twice? Or do they only count the first one you download? I avoided downloading the McCain pic, just to be on the safe side. What if a person were to download their choice of gamerpic hundreds of times? Would that count as hundreds of votes? Wow -- the Xbox 360 is as reliable as the real electronic voting machines we'll use to cast our votes with on November 4th!

Sloopydrew

Hey, all I'm saying is I've heard the "N-word" (hows that for a euphemism?) thrown around Halo 2 more than any other online community.

CrypticMetaphor

@Adisah: Then vote mcain

97gsx

@Shin-san: i will agree that seems to be better at connecting with the younger demographic like most people on the liberal ballot, but i much more agree with the "its up the the parents" thought

stryker1800

@nworobes: Rest assured, my complaint was completely worthless from the start. I generally just felt like ranting about why I hate anyone (whether they work for Microsoft or work for a pro-gun lobby or work for Barack Obama) whose sole job is spin.

kicking222

My friend fought in Iraq. His dad is still in Iraq. He told me that Obama is a peace of shit, and most the troops believe it. Obama would rather hang out with the big wigs and shoot hoops instead of praising the troops for what they are doing. McCain however is all FOR the troops. I gotta say a man who treats his people with respect is someone who should be president.

McCain 08

mascot1063

@kicking222: The fact that Ashcraft then says:
"Take that for whatever it's worth."
pretty much entirely negates your complaint. I think that statement generally implies that something isn't actually very meaningful, but is still of note.

nworobes

haha, nice pic. sadly only about 15% of those polled will probably vote. damn kids and their music

Grahamunculus

@lordofsword:

[www.fivethirtyeight.com]

538, which is easily one of the best sites concerning polls for the presidential election, looked into this a couple of days ago.

Bishmon

Considering how much disinformation is out there on McCain / Palin I am surprised the numbers are as high as they are.

You can take comments out of context but you can't hide voting records. Obama was a piss poor choice and his voting record on the born alive act mean I will never EVER vote for him or support him as a President if he is elected.

chip5541

@97gsx:

I'm voting for him based on his apparent greater competence in economic AND international matters, level headed disposition, thorough thoughtfulness, and the fact that I am in agreement with the majority of his voting record. His political rise in stature is an accomplishment of extraordinary significance, apparently far more difficult than most Senate legislation. Whatever his experience is, it has added up to someone whom I trusted with my primary vote. I will be voting for him again this November.

I haven't watched MTV in years, and I rather dislike the dismissive tone you have for people our age whom you seem to mistake are magically all Obama supporters.

Psudonym

Wait wheres Nader?!?!

NeVeRMoRe666

there was an interesting point about these polls on some bbc news 24 program over here, that nearly all of them are carried out using landline phones. a lot of young people either don't own their own homes and therefore wouldn't answer/participate, or don't have a landline phone at all, using mobiles instead. so younger people, who tend to be democrats in the US, are basically ignored in all these polls, something these figures seem to back up considering other polls put both candidates around equal levels.

lordofsword

@stryker1800: Both Obama and McCain seem about equal with regards to video game censorship. However, Obama connects to the young adult demographic really well, and the Xbox is good at targeting them.

Here's a kotaku article on Obama I ran into when trying to figure out which one was better.
[kotaku.com]

McCain basically says it's up to the parents.

Shin-san

@Dangeresque: I know Gundam is dirty but I love 00:

What percentage of Xbox Live players are Silver?

Because if that is true, this poll has even less meaning than previously thought.

However it is good to try and get the young adults into the process so to speak.

Reikson

@mascot1063:
Calling either man a "peace of shit" [sic] is downright banworthy, in my opinion.

Aside from that, your post is nothing but hearsay -- a bag of factual gas. If you want to talk about who sleeps with the big wigs, do some research into the biggest financial supporters of both candidates. Both JP Morgan and Citigroup are in the top 5 donors to BOTH McCain and Obama's candidacies. This is why the two-party system has become known as the "Republicrats," because they're both beholden to the true leader of this country, the corporatocracy.

This year, there were only three men bold enough to speak the truth, and brave enough to be pragmatic, independent thinkers. Those were, in no particular order: Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, and Ron Paul. Coincidentally (or consequentially), all three were for the immediate return of our troops from Iraq. Even further, Dr. Paul called for the return of troops from all 700 permanent bases in 130 countries in the world. I can think of no greater respect to the troops than reuniting them with their families.

topaz420

@nworobes: yep, im sorry i have to admit, that i voted twice, well i just wanted both of the gamerpics, i did other and undicided. just because the obama and mccain pics were so lame.

if microsoft did this as to where all the gamerpics were the same, then we could have a more accurate polling.

btw...does mccain have any children, or does he/has he ever been bump caring, because its totally awsome.

d4rlp3nc1l

How many of them will get their asses off Halo, CoD 4, and Madden to vote?

cametall

@subterfunk: comment got attached to the wrong thread. oh well.

subterfunk

As interesting as this poll is, unfortunately Microsoft has ruined it with their Xbox Live membership division. I talked to a guy working at Microsoft, and he let it slip that Xbox Live Silver members are only counted as three-fifths of a vote. So there it is.

Dangeresque: I know Gundam is dirty but I love 00

homophobic 15 year olds for obama.

rianfrost

@mascot1063: And hanging out with the big wigs? [s367.photobucket.com]

McCain IS a big wig.

stevesan

@mascot1063: while your friend and his father have been involved in the war, I recommend you do your own research about the candidates to make your own decision this coming election. Psudonym offers a perspective on McCain that is well documented.

One could also argue that Obama is FOR the troops by looking to fix America's international reputation through better diplomacy.

I'm not sure what you are implying by saying Obama would rather hang out and shoot hoops, but I don't like it.

subterfunk

@mascot1063: The fact is, what the troops are doing is bullshit. They're contributing to the unlawful dismantling of a sovereign country.

I'm sorry, but that's the truth. I don't blame the troops, and I support them as human beings and I support their families. But I don't support what they're doing at all.

If your friend thinks the Iraq War is noble, he's wrong. I support him as a fellow American and as your friend, but I don't support his opinion.

Tell your friend and his dad that McCain will increase their chances of being killed.

stevesan

Who would put faith into a Xbox Live poll for determining the fate of a nation? Seriously?

NitrousO

@mascot1063:

I cannot disprove your statement on what the general opinion of our troops are. But I can say with certainty that McCain's voting record for Veteran's benefits and care do not conform to that of a man who is for the troops.

Psudonym

@mascot1063:
for the troops? he wants to cut veteran benefits.

WEGGLES90

@Dangeresque: I know Gundam is dirty but I love 00: OMG SILVER MEMBERS ARE NOW CONSIDERED SLAVES TO MICROSOFT!
[en.wikipedia.org]

Weasel3689

@mascot1063:

So what if your friend was in Iraq. Are you going to take his word over your own logical conclusions?

If I'm not mistaken, McCain voted for the war and Obama against. How is sending 160k+ troops into harms way on a fool's errand be "FOR the troops."?

Furthermore, McCain fails to support an updated GI bill FOR enlisted men and women instead throwing his weight behind a bill that would allow for a $2000 a month benefit after 12 years of service. I wonder, do you do any research on your own, or is this coming from your friend veteran's mouth (FSM bless him)

If you ask me, (not that you did or that I care) McCain is using his veteran status to appeal to other vets most of whom are old just like him.

The stories of him in the POW camp are great and all--hell I wish I had a story like that to tell my kids so they'd think I was HARDCORE--but a high pain threshold and a stubborn nature do not a commander-in-chief make.

LeeHarvey81

Of course people like me weren't even able to put in our vote because Xbox Live just never works right. I tried clicking on that thing a number of different times and could never get it to load.

Also (hopefully) most of the people voting for Obama are stupid kids who are too young to vote anyways. The future of our country depends upon it.

GusherKid

It's like the tagline for that crappy Alien vs Predator movie, "Whoever wins, we lose."

Spacehog85

@DugDawg:

So you probably voted for all 4 candidates. So would that count as "Undecided?"

Sloopydrew

n bfr Gmrs dn't vt.

KingBroly

Oh my god, that picture is fucking epic.

Lightman

You guys bitching and giving your political opinions on a video game website need to leave it alone and go eat some Popsicles or something.

ManjiKengo

@Dangeresque: I know Gundam is dirty but I love 00:
Lol. Silver members are like 1/5 of Gold ones though. It is basically pointless.

Reikson

@LeeHarvey81:

Obama wasn't even in the Senate so he could not have voted.

Mccain voted against the bill that came up because it was overloaded with funding for non-war related projects.

Neither does hanging around with terrorist, socialist and hate mongers make a commander in chief. If anything that should preclude anyone from holding any type of office.

chip5541

@mascot1063: I don't find argument ad milites entirely persuasive.

Slatz_Grobnik

@Weasel3689: And the boy gets a cigar. Yeah, I meant that as a joke, if it wasn't clear. Sorry for the confusion.

Dangeresque: I know Gundam is dirty but I love 00

@NeVeRMoRe666: I've been asking this question all year too. Two options are not enough.

TheKnicest

McCain... Obama...

Is this really the best we can come up with?!

I'm voting for Master Yoda.

ToiletAssassin

The simple fact is from a purely militaristic point of view, Mcain wins because he served and no one that has not had the honor of serving can have any remote idea what it is like.

Simply put, Mcain has a better understanding of what the military really does and does not need. Kevlar jackets are more important then decision commitees.

Hand_O_Death

@mascot1063: You're making a statement baised on somebody elses opinion.

Grow up and do your research before you make any kind of judgement on anything.

belo

@Dangeresque: I know Gundam is dirty but I love 00:

lol, I got it. ^__^

em

Very funny picture.

belo

My faith in my fellow Americans has been shaken by the ignorance displayed in some of these posts. =/

Benjamin Linus

McCains wife is somebody I can get behind.

Malorkis

@chip5541: Yeah, and did you see his TERRORIST FIST BUMP with his wife. I mean come on, it'd be like voting for Mussolini except worse. Also Stalin.

idkmybffgreg

Gonna forego political viewpoints here in favor of pointing out how funny i think it is that Obama shows a clear lead amongst a user base I've heard use more racial slurs in a five minute period of time than any other place on the planet.

And I grew up in Texas.

Diddy_Mao

@Hand_O_Death:
Didja vote for Kerry then?

Psudonym

@Lightman: You'd also be mistaken about McCain's motives for voting against the updated GI Bill. He, like President Bush, was worried about troop retention--meaning he was scared the extra money would encourage soldiers to leave service faster to pursue their education.

Doesn't sound very noble, does it?

Lightman

@rianfrost:

I bet only like 50% of people on XBL voted. You really think a kid would stop playing long enough for a survey?

Terance! - In Before What My Message Says

@mascot1063:

Any moron who is FIGHTING IN A WAR and wants to vote for someone wanting to continue FIGHTING IN A WAR is obviously not a smart person, or atleast one who wants to live.

AFAIK, science dictates STAYING ALIVE as smart, so trying to FIGHT IN A WAR is stupid.

(No offense to anyone except the OP for using someone else's opinion.)

Obama 08

Terance! - In Before What My Message Says

@chip5541: If you're referring to Obama not voting on the Iraq war, you'd be dead wrong. He's been in the senate since '97.

Terrorist, socialist, hatemongers? How about overzealous, robber baron, elitists? See how effective that was at swaying your opinion?

Lightman

Interesting....

I don't really care/know much about politics, though Ron Paul seemed like an interesting fellow.

The pic is humorous, by the way.

em

Okay you guys. Let us say they decide to pull out from this war. All the troops out there want to finish this war. Not because they want to fight, but if they don't finish it, then what will this all have been for? All of those troops who did die for this war will be in vein. One of my buddies died for this war infact. But knowing you guys, you probably won't believe a word I say. Because to you, I am some elitist who will make shit up, just to get people on my side. I used to support Obama, but I finally opened my eyes to what this jackass is about.

mascot1063

@Lightman:

actually Obama was in teh Illinios Senate from 1997 - 2004. He did not become a U.S. Seantor until march of 2004. He missed the vote by a couple of years.

people are judged by the friends they choose. Frankly, I would choose any one of those over the friends of Obama. I would also never vote for anyone who voted against or spoke against the born alive act.

chip5541

@chip5541: Obama voted against the war from the start.

Ra is on Seinfeld

@Diddy_Mao:

That's because the vast majority of users (not necessarily the hardcore gamers) are generally decent enough people, many of them never using racial slurs even at their most heated gaming moments.

Psudonym

@mascot1063: If you are so concerned with the lives of our troops, why are you voting for a man who helped send them into a unjustified preemptive war? We are NOT a global police force. And even if we were, there are plenty of other nations who need our help.

And please, stop using the deaths of our troops as some instrument to further your political ideals. Its extremely distasteful.

Lightman

@chip5541: Ah crap, you got me there. I just looked it up on wikipedia :\

Lightman

Without doubt, the greatest picture I've ever seen on the internet...

Fun times.

outofreach

McCain lost all respect when he chose Palin.

Seriously, so many more qualified candidates, and he chooses her?

Thorax

@Lightman:

Don't feel bad. With all teh crap being slung by both sides I had to double check myself. I don't know about anyone else but I am truely sick of it. let the facts speak, let teh voting recods speak not sound bites, rumors and interpitations of misspoken words.

chip5541

@Psudonym:
...many of them never using racial slurs even at their most heated ... moments

Imagine saying that about any other group of people in any other context. It doesn't reflect well on a group that the best you can say is that a reasonable percentage of them are not openly racist.

kingofallcosmos

@Dangeresque: I know Gundam is dirty but I love 00: @Reikson: I see what you did there, funny. Its even funnier that people on the board don't know what you're referring to.

The bigger the lie, the more they believe!

@Psudonym:

Agreed!
It's impossible to deny things such as the difference in education level between Obama and McCain. Sure, the argument has been made that a level of education does not always dictate a capable president.
Then again, I think logic dictates that one should vote for the 'popular nerd' over the 'average kid' on student election day.

benevolentelephant

@LeeHarvey81: So I guess going into Korea was a mistake as well? I guess we should have let the Southern half fall into the hands of lunatics so they could be oppressed for decades to come. War is hell but sometimes without war the world becomes hell. I could use Japan as another example. The irony is I don't think we should have ever gone into Iraq for a various amount of reasons but I'm 100% behind the war in Afghanistan. I'm voting for Obama but my political idealogy has no party allegiance.

Nexus6

Walken '08 all the way!

strix

@97gsx: If Obama can get control over this "MTV" generation, then go for it. Children are the future of course, it'll be easier to brainwash them with Obama.

MetaKz

@mascot1063: I wish your friend didn't have to die, I'm not trying to speak for him, but I can't imagine him wanting anyone else to die in this war. And when you say finish, what exactly would constitute finishing tis war and who is this war against?

AntiHiro

@ToiletAssassin: Ralph 08 for me.
.

Immigration - "Stranger danger!"

Government Spending - "I only have this much moneys."

Party Politics - "Everyone is invited to my party!"

Slogan - "I Dig the Wig"

Ethics - "I'm Ralph Wiggum and I've been a good boy."

Political Appointments - Bart Simpson as the Secretary of Indian Burns and Lisa Simpson as his First Ladle

Foreign Relations - "When we're mad we'll use our words. Then the rest of the world will play nice with us. And the only boom-booms will be in our pants."
.
src: [www.digthewig08.com]

Sousanator

@stryker1800:
lol @ people who are seriously considering voting on a president on the sole issue of whether or not you will be able to play manhunt or gta. they shouldnt be allowed to vote imo. people should vote based on REAL issues, such as the economy, the wars in the middle east, taxes, health care, social security etc.

AfroMan070

@Dangeresque: I know Gundam is dirty but I love 00: Just had to say awesome. Thanks for making a great joke on what is becoming a seriously unfunny commenting section.

Iocarios

@Benjamin Linus: You should read the comments in the politics section of Fark sometime. Sweet jebus.

Gouki4u

You know I was more or less split down the middle before... but the instant Palin was chosed as VP im just NOT voting for republicans. I think McCain was a sellout and Obama has some policies that arent going to work entirely well though hopefully he'll be held down by other democrats.

I think he has alot of bad ideas but so does the other side but I dont want to risk Palin becoming president... AT ALL.

Obama should be fine and Iraq is more or less doing better now.

SaanZ

@Hand_O_Death:

McCain crashed 5 ships in the Navy and graduated 894th of his class. He may have served at one point and no one is discounting that he helped the country at one point, however the man is, simply put, an idiot. He only started caring about economic issues when they became front page news while Obama had contacted economic advisers weeks in advance of the bank collapses. McCain is willing to stay in Iraq for decades longer while at the same time supporting a war with Iran. No matter your political alignment it just isn't smart to be involved in a war where you station your troops over three different countries.

On the subject of video games, however: McCain is someone so technologically challenged that he probably will never sit down to actually play a video game. Because of this, he is more likely to be swayed by "angry-moms" blaming video games for their life problems. I see Obama as the type of person who would play a game with his kids given his age and theirs.

Cake_Eater

Please America do not let Palin have the controls - she is terrible beyond all belief for so many reasons (religious nut, anti-science, anti-abortion/choice, utterly stupid, gun nut, left the country for the first time last year, ignorant...list goes on).

Please register yourself and make sure you vote on the day.

d510r9

@TheKnicest: It would help if Nader could run a competent political campaign that was about more than "Ralph Nader's here again!"

hegemonyhog

Could the Politics of GTA IV decide who will be elected the next U.S. President?

[www.playthree.net]

Andronix

@d510r9:

Please do a little more research before responding :(

chip5541

@Cake_Eater:

McCain warned Congress about Fanny Mae / Freddy Mac if it was not reformed back in 2005. His ranking of 894 has nothing to do with his intelligence but because he butted heads with teh higher ups.

Actually for Obama, the last and only video game he played was Pong. Due to Obamas background and past statements, and Bidens history, I could see these two easily swayed into regulating video games ala the Jack Thompson way.
McCain has said that video games should be left up to teh parents. I would be interested in hearing Sarah Palin's thought on gaming in general. As far as him not using computers or sending emails, so what? Beisdes I thought the reason why is because both his arms and shoulder had been shattered and it is difficult for him to use them.

chip5541

@mascot1063:

What are the benchmarks for victory than? When will we really have "mission accomplished"? We're killed Saddam and installed a new government. That's some pretty big milestones, why is it time to let Iraq be Iraq without its training wheels on?

BaronVonCrogs

I sure wish a Neo Con had the balls to face an Independent ( like myself ) IN-PUBLIC and tell me to keep my political beliefs to myself. You'd be in for a rude awakening because I don't take kindly to Conservative / Republicans. You're a bunch of gun toting, so-called bible belt, bigots - its so fucking obvious! You try to hide behind religion and
patroitism with your ANTI-DIPLOMATIC BELIEFS!

There's no fucking way America is that stupid to elect another Republican into the White House after the last 8 years of lies and deception! McCain agreed well over 90% of Bush's policies. Sarah Palin was a strategic pick - not based on real issues! McCain thought he was slick thinking he could win votes from pissed off Hilary supporters. McCain only met Palin ONCE prior to deciding for her to run for VP. What kind of bullshit is that ?!

McCain is an OLD ASS MAN with archaic solutions. General life expectancy for a male is around 70+. He's battled with cancer a couple of times. The fucker could drop dead during his term. Then we have this fanatical sonofabitch, Sarah Palin as our leader! Palin is a pentecostal freak thinking its "God's Will" to invade countries. She's tried to ban certain classic literature. She's against women's right to choose ( abortion ). Hence her own 17 year old pregnant daughter. Palin is currently under investigation for corruption when she was Governor. She's partly insane - believing in the rapture /creationism. But she won't practice what she preaches. The Republican party is DELLUSIONED / FUCKED UP and it needs to go away real quick!

OBAMA '08

smokinbettycrocker

I love that pic, and am now inspired to make a Obama Mii in order to recreate that pic in Mario Kart.

In the long run, does the XBL vote mean anything? What percentage of Live users are actually of legal age? What percentage of live users couldn't be bothered to slap a McCain/Obama bumper sticker on the Profile?

Heck, look at the venom being flung around these parts...imagine the "delight" that would be had if someone with a slight political lean one way or another happened to notice your gamercard included a pic supporting one candidate or the other.

There's enough racial and homophobic blather being tossed around over the interwebs, the last thing I need when gaming is to have political barbs thrown into the mix.

TRT-X

@smokinbettycrocker: I can't wait to see what the disemvoweling turns this post into...

TRT-X

@smokinbettycrocker:
You don't come off as independent, what with the whole anti-Republican stance. You sound like a far lefty actually. Even if the points you make in the second and third paragraphs are valid, you write them in such a manner that, yeah, you're not coming off as independent at all.

Mommar

@TRT-X: Heh, Agreed... Too bad he / she / it missed ban monday by a few hours...

bobtheduck

@NeVeRMoRe666:

Nader is never a viable option....most 3rd party candidates aren't.

Islandkiwi

Haha this pic is hilarious! I don't like either candidate, so count me as undecided. >_< Being a military family we're screwed either way...

sweetie55

@Islandkiwi:

Jack Thompson went to law school ;)

chip5541

@smokinbettycrocker:

Hahahahahahahahahahha...

Have I missed something? Has anyone told this joker to keep his political beliefs to himself? Like Bush said when he was in Australia and was being shouted down. "Isn't freedom of speech wonderful"

chip5541

Reasons to vote for Obama:

Intelligent: Went to Harvard Law school, became chief editor of Harvard Law Review. Listen, getting into law school is hard enough, getting into Harvard even harder. And anyone from law school will tell you gaining entry into a school's law review is no simple task, let alone becoming the chief editor.

Sensible: Admiting he was a little weak on foreign policy, he brought in Biden. It shows the ability to recognize your own potential flaws.

Like me: Obama, like myself, grew up in Hawaii. So when he went back to Hawaii after securing the nomination, I was curious to see how we would relax. And guess what? He did things I'd do. He had shave ice, he walked Kailua beach, he bodysurfed (and well, too). He even visited the Blowhole next to Hanauma Bay, which is where he had spread his mothers ashes.

In short, we could do much worse for President. I like Obama, and can't believe that there are still people out the that would choose McCain...especially after he chose Palin as his running mate.

Islandkiwi

@stryker1800:
Dude, you made a common mistake there. You are confusing conservatism with libertarianism. While I will continue to have no fucking clue what "small government" means (or "big government", for that matter), the core of conservative principals is government involvement, just not in ways that are helpful to people. Conservative principals are based on notions that say that people need to be kept safe from themselves/terrorists/foreigners/60's radicals/communists/Muslims/etc (drug wars and foreign wars are expensive and require laws!), but they don't like to help out other people with their money. (you know, until it's their city/job/house hit with disaster/unemployment/foreclosure. Then they wonder where the help is) Libertarians actually believe in no government involvement, be it in a positive way (i.e. they are against things like FEMA, welfare, medicare, social security, saying that ANY "gov't" help will always lead to corruption), or in an imposing way (they are against domestic unwarranted spying). For example, despite what people seem to think, Ron Paul is not a conservative. He's a libertarian. I'm not defending libertarianism here, I'm just clearing up a common misunderstanding.

And no, I'm not making the mistake of confusing conservatism with authoritarian Bushism. Neo-conservatives also agree with many neo-liberal ideas, which is a word that means they somehow believe the purpose of government is to increase profit margins. (Bill Clinton was also a neo-liberal, but he didn't buy into neo-conservative ideas as far as I know). In fact, I'd wager that's the main reason there haven't been video game bannings during the Bush admin: games make money for someone after all. A real conservative would have banned violent games years ago.

To make the picture complete, what does "liberal" mean? No idea, but when I heard (years later) about Reno vs. ACLU, I gave them money. I was told I was a "goddamn liberal". When I noticed that the Patriot Act basically gave outrageous power to the government to call whoever they want a terrorist, I was told I was a "goddamn liberal". Before bush started Iraq, I said "This doesn't make sense. This will probably backfire." I was told I was a "goddamn liberal". So according to what my opponents say, I guess that means if you believe in the constitution, are against censorship, and are against unnecessary wars, you're a liberal. *shrug*

@Shin-san:
Neither Obama's youth and grassroots votes, nor McCain's evangelical and parents' groups votes are unconditional. Being pro-censorship would kill both of Obama's new groups, whereas the right-wing and parents' groups have managed to force McCain to fold on a lot of issues in the past. The book burners at the parent groups and bible thumpers are something to watch out for.

@AfroMan070:
No, voting based on real issues like censorship (be it corporate, like a tiered internet, or governmental, like video game banning) is not stupid. Ignoring issues that people typically consider minor until they blow up in everyone's face is stupid. Torture was only a "minor fringe issue" until everyone knew about it. The Patriot Act was only a "minor issue" until most people heard what it was (and many still haven't!). Katrina was a "minor issue" talked about on Black-owned radio until everyone else noticed it. The the current situation of the Mortgage crisis has long been obvious to those who would simply pay attention. Copyright is a "minor issue" until the video you want to see of Tom Cruiz acting stupid is removed because the Cult of Scientology wants to delete evidence of its propaganda. Network Neutrality is a "minor issue" until the site you want to go to or the protocol you use is at blacklisted. And here, censorship is a "minor issue" until the game you want to play or the book you want to read is banned.

Political apathy is the most dangerous thing in the world. Check out [en.wikipedia.org]

--

On an unrelated note, that is one strange picture of obama there.

Akin

@Islandkiwi: I agree with you almost entirely, but the thing that attracts me to Obama the most is his calm, sensible rationality. He makes logical decisions and clearly is always thinking long-term rather than making spur of the moment decisions. Contrast that with McCain, who chose Palin almost on a whim, without proper vetting, and is known for his temper. I know who I would prefer to have in office.

This isn't to say that McCain is a bad person, but I think he's become so focused on attaining office that he's lost sight of what attracted many voters to him in the first place, and his increasingly libelous attack ads are only reinforcing that view. McCain was furious when he was attacked like this in 2000, but now he doesn't hesitate to play dirty when he's on the other side of the fence? The Straight-Talk Express has been swerving a lot lately...

The saddest thing for me is that I was honestly excited when McCain got the republican nomination -- I have intense respect for what he's done in the past, and was truly looking forward to some great debates between McCain and Obama. Too bad reality always has a way of crushing optimism out of you, eh?

Sugoi

great, votes from mostly young gamers, people sheltered from real life experience.

@Terance! - In Before What My Message Says: "Any moron who is FIGHTING IN A WAR and wants to vote for someone wanting to continue FIGHTING IN A WAR is obviously not a smart person, or atleast one who wants to live."

if more people were like you we would have lost ww2. you have no perspective. in the first week of that war we lost an unimaginable number already. and we lost the initial battles. the nay sayers would have had a point in a way for running away.

Justifan

@Islandkiwi: I kind of like Obama. I don't trust him. But I really want to like him. To be honest I'm not really happy with either him or McCain. I think they both kinda suck.

But - one thing is certain. Joe Biden is an absolute lying moron. Do some research. (And yea...Palin is scary too.) I just felt like I needed to address your apparent respect for Joe Biden. The dude is worthless.

Sandvich

Yeah the sample was larger than that of the Gallup or NBC polls, but much less diverse.

Kenny

I'm voting for McCain, and I don't feel like arguing why here on Kotaku because 1/2 the people will say I'm ignorant and 1/2 will agree with me. Thats part of the reason I stay out of debating politics.

BassForever

anyways, i see it as an issue of character. mccain survived 5 years as a pow and made something of his life. that says something.

obama on the other hand despite all the qualities the left wish on him has a shady ass past. no man of moral virtue spends a decade of his life calling a bigot loving crackpot like reverend wright his personal spiritual guide. wright gave unrestrained praise and awards to a man like farrakhan who is a famous antisemitic racist. obama stood by instead of standing up to this man or walking away, either as a moral coward or a man indifferent, or in secret agreement. none of the possibilities are good. he exposed his children to this man. and this is the real obama, the obama that exists when he thinks no one is watching.

Justifan

So I assume at least 40% of the panel is composed of people who cannot vote (i.e. 13-year-olds) and another 35% is composed of people who are either not registered or will not vote in the end (i.e. college students). So yeah, I guess this has a lot of value...

Mokona

I'm not interested in having a conservative run America. That being said, thank goodness I'm not American. The only thing I can see McCain doing during his term is turning back the advancement of the US to about 100 years ago. He's against womens' and gay rights, you don't need any more abstinence only education, and teaching Creationism does nothing more than breed morons. The only thing about the war that American's should be interested in is ending it. That country has lost enough as is. It needs to move forward and I don't believe McCain wants it to.

Tiger-Fever

Go go other! The only people who should actually be president. Obama and McCain are FAIL.

kojirodensetsu

If the majority or a 4th of those votes are from 13 years old that are basically listening to their parents and will vote along with their choice this doesn't really matter.

Still, it's great that MS is doing this and it would be nice if they work on this more for the next election and get ALL the consoles involved and even make it interactive. The next presidential candidate may have to have a videogame.

If they had games today I think Obama would be more a third-person (he's so pretty you'd want to see him all the time) Metal Gear Solid style game with lots of time for cut-scenes for all that great rhetoric he waxes at his speeches.

McCain's game would be an FPS like Duke Nukem (because no one would want to discover that the person holding the gun is a 5'2" senior citizen) just shooting everything in site with no regard for what's in front of him. He'll figure out how to clean up afterwards.

incredibilistic

@