Michael Goldfarb, using the McCain campaign’s tactic of responding to any criticism of their candidate by citing his experience as POW, answers questions about the remarkable similarity between McCain’s “cross in the dirt” story and an anecdote often told by Alexander Solzhenitsyn by once again invoking the fearsome specter of Dungeons and Dragons:
It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd to disparage a fellow countryman’s memory of war from the comfort of mom’s basement, but most Americans have the humility and gratitude to respect and learn from the memories of men who suffered on behalf of others.This is similar to something Goldfarb has said before.Last time, as Ben Smith points out, Goldfarb apologized, displaying a tongue in cheek familiarity with the rules of the game.
If my comments caused any harm or hurt to the hard working Americans who play Dungeons & Dragons, I apologize. This campaign is committed to increasing the strength, constitution, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma scores of every American.
That's the kind of deep, personal animosity that you associate with experience, which clearly Goldfarb has. It’s not hard to imagine that some basement somewhere holds the abandoned d20s, dusty rulebooks, and broken heart of a young Michael Goldfarb who never got to be Dungeon Master because he wouldn’t stop yelling. In fact, it’s hard not to wonder if, when Michael Goldfarb is berating the D&D players of the world, he’s really just berating Michael Goldfarb. For all his criticisms of the “Dailykos” crowd, if “Dungeons and Dragons” becomes a part of our political lexicon, we’ll know who to thank.
—A. Serwer
