Playing Politics: The 2008 Presidential Candidates on Videogames

10/31/2008 5:29 PM | 3 Comments | Page 2 of 4

In another speech before the Kaiser Family Foundation, Obama used stronger language to describe the ill influence that media can have on American kids: "We don't teach our children that healthy relationships involve drunken, naked parties in a hot tub with strangers -- but that's what they see when they turn on The Real World. We don't teach them to express their anger by seeing how much blood they can draw with a round of ammo -- but that's what they learn in the most popular video games. And we don't teach our kids that the height of success is inheriting a family fortune to buy Gucci bags without ever working a serious day in your life - but that's how Paris Hilton gets by on The Simple Life. You can say that kids know this isn't real, but when they're fed a steady diet of these depictions over and over again from the time they're very young, this behavior becomes acceptable -- even normal."

At a campaign stop in Indianapolis in April, Obama and wife Michelle referenced the new Grand Theft Auto game as an example of entertainment's growing influence on American children: "I was just catching the news this morning about Grand Theft Auto ... which is going to break all records, make goo-gobs of money for whoever designed it," he told the crowd. "Now this isn't intended for kids, I understand -- although I promise you there will be kids who are playing it. But those video games are raising our kids."

"And it's not just one specific game," Michelle added.

"... the video culture, the TV culture -- across the board, middle class, upper class, working class kids -- they're spending a huge amount of time not on their studies, but on entertainment," Obama said.

This is not a new theme for Obama. In June 2005 he delivered a speech entitled "Literacy and Education in a 21st-Century Economy" that described how parents are using entertainment to pacify children and avoid the real work of parenting, and children are tempted by technology instead of reading books or studying.

Finally, at a town hall meeting in Illinois, Obama answered a student question about what he was going to do to stop what was happening to the current generation. In his answer he talked about reducing the deficit, improving the economy and fixing healthcare. Then he added: "The bad news is you're going to have to work harder. Youth culture is one of "watching TV, playing video games and avoiding tough classes in school."

For Barack Obama, videogames represent a distraction -- a way to promote unacceptable behavior and underachievement. This is not to say that his rhetoric does not have some truth to it, but it suggests that he might not see the merits of videogames like Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Brain Age.

John McCain

The senator from Arizona has been consistently quiet on videogame violence through most of his career -- except in the wake of the Columbine tragedy, the worst school shooting in our nation's history.