What Can Games Teach Us About The Election?

With just 42 days left until the United States chooses its 44th President, it is vital that the electorate is well versed in the key issues affecting the country.

Although many cultural commentators bemoan the lack of political engagement in the general population, and both the Democrat and Republican campaigns have condemned video games as a negative influence on the young, the fact is that gamers have a significant advantage in understanding the complexities of the Presidency. By playing games across a wide spectrum of genres, a gamer can experience first hand the tough decisions and burning questions that will test the leader of the free world.

Can the same be said for the candidates themselves? Far from condemning video gaming, McCain and Obama would do well to embrace gaming culture in the hope that some of our collective wisdom will rub off.

This will not be easy. Obama will have to flipflop on numerous anti-games speeches, while McCain must contend with long hours of advisors patiently re-explaining that a 'computy-game' is a sort of electric coconut shy or bagatelle.

http://kotaku.com/5053337/what-can-g...t-the-election