Presidential hopeful Mark Warner recently held a press conference in the MySpace of MMOs, Second Life. The coverage of the event was decidedly subdued, and I've seen very little followup worth reporting.

Except, of course, for the article from which the following excerpt is plucked. Surprise surprise, all did not go as planned. Uninvited attendees were removed from the premises while shouting slogans about freedom and democracy; the invited reporters, fresh from Help Island, couldn't figure out how to use the provided chairs; and once the impertinent questions from the same reporters were silence by the moderator, the former quickly became restless and took matters into their own hands, making this the most entertaining political debate since the word "internets" was coined.

One reporter was a green Incredible Hulk type, one was a series of tubes, another was a knight with feathers in the helmet, still another carried a balloon proclaiming "Stop Slavery," and several turned themselves into buxom blondes. Warner chose a dark jacket and tan slacks.

[...]

The avatars became bored. Whirling Eddy and the tube guy began to fly. Others joined the governor on the stage or made some of the "gestures" in the program, such as muscle-flexing, yawning, rock-scissors-paper and a spanking gesture called "kmb" — kiss my butt.

After fending off the questions with increasing ferocity, moderator Hamlet Au pronounced the governor a virtual success. "You've performed quite well, sir," he said. "You are not a noob."

Eliza Gauger

edit: I updated with a new photo, which I graciously stole from Joystiq. Observe the Series of Tubes in the second row.

Do You Have a Question, Pixeleen Minstral? [Washington Post, via GamePolitics]