Obama Name Checks GTA, Says Video Games Are Raising Our Children

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama might not be all that fond of video games, but at least he is keeping up with the latest gaming news. In a speech given at a campaign stop in Indianapolis, Indiana, the senator addressed the problem of children being raised by video games, launching into the subject by mentioning Grand Theft Auto, which "is going to break all records and make goo-gobs of money for whoever designed it." Poor Rockstar. Hopefully those goo-gobs will make up for the fact that Obama has no idea who you are. As for his comments on video games raising our children, it really isn't a criticism of gaming in as much as it is a criticism of parents, which I agree with wholeheartedly. It's nice to see a politician who grasps that simple concept.

Obama Monotonously Bangs Game Drum

In a race for the Democratic nomination, Obama hasn't made any passionate speeches about video games with the fervor he has addressed health care, the war in Iraq or Hillary Clinton, but he has continued making jabs at games with little concern. In a recent speech at Wilkes Hall in Pennsylvania, he urged the public, "...turn off the television, turn off the video games..." in a similar rhetoric to just last February when he urged the public, "...parent better, and turn off the television set, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence in our children..."

No doubt, video games are easy fodder when speaking about "family values" for all the stereotypical reasons. But to lump all games together is a dated philosophy, ignoring—aside from what I'd argue could be familial benefits—their huge potential to revolutionize education through their ability to capture attention spans and motivate success...let alone the current ways they tacitly instruct the scientific method, resource management and spacial reasoning.

Barack Obama: 'Parents should clamp down on games' [MCVUK]

Obama Sees Gamers as Underachievers

Democratic presidential candidate nominee Barack Obama hasn't made major claims about the content video games like his rival Hilary Clinton has in the past, but he's definitely been mentioning them. According to GamePolitics.com, Obama's been using video games as a metaphor for underachievement throughout his campaign speeches.

Many of his campaign speeches have contained advice for parents to get kids to "put away the video games." This isn't anything new, either. GamePolitics.com also points out that he's been talking about video games and underachievement in the same breath since April 2006.

In his victory speech in Wisconsin last night, Obama reiterated this sentiment: