Marc Ambinder surveys Obama and McCain's interviews with Entertainment Weekly and concludes, "Obama has the tastes of a 72 year old man; McCain has the tastes of a 47 year old whippersnapper. Who knew?"
But Ambinder is burying his ledes. Obama doesn't get American Idol, hasn't played a video game since Pong, and has Javanese flute music on his iPod. Dude is way too elitist to ever become president.But if the interview ends Obama's chances, it crushes the McCain candidacy. First, McCain cried over Bambi. He's not ready for that 3am phone call. What if the terrorists are holding a Mama Deer hostage? Then there's this: "A couple of weeks ago we went to see the new
Indiana Jones movie," says McCain. "I enjoyed that so much." The new Indiana Jones was an insult not only to the intelligence of its audience, but to the very concept of intelligence itself. It's like these guys are proud of their own ignorance!Oh, and McCain's favorite on-screen president? 24's David Palmer -- the nation's first African-American president.Update: Obama is getting a bum rap from Ambinder and Sacha Zimmerman. He said he liked M*A*S*H when he was a kid. Obama was born in 1961. M*A*S*H in 1972. When Obama was watching it, it wasn't fogeyish at all. It was The Wire of its time. As for the comic book answer, McCain's understanding of Batman is pretty weird: "He does justice sometimes against insurmountable odds. And he doesn't make his good works known to a lot of people, so a lot of people think he's just a rich playboy." In other words, he's a quiet do-gooder who should probably remind people of his biography more, but he's too damn modest. In other words, he's John McCain's idea of himself. Meanwhile, Obama chooses Spiderman and Batman for what any comic nerd will recognize as the appropriate reasons, "The guys who have too many powers, like Superman, that always made me think they weren't really earning their superhero status. It's a little too easy. Whereas Spider-Man and Batman, they have some inner turmoil."
But Ambinder is burying his ledes. Obama doesn't get American Idol, hasn't played a video game since Pong, and has Javanese flute music on his iPod. Dude is way too elitist to ever become president.But if the interview ends Obama's chances, it crushes the McCain candidacy. First, McCain cried over Bambi. He's not ready for that 3am phone call. What if the terrorists are holding a Mama Deer hostage? Then there's this: "A couple of weeks ago we went to see the new
Indiana Jones movie," says McCain. "I enjoyed that so much." The new Indiana Jones was an insult not only to the intelligence of its audience, but to the very concept of intelligence itself. It's like these guys are proud of their own ignorance!Oh, and McCain's favorite on-screen president? 24's David Palmer -- the nation's first African-American president.Update: Obama is getting a bum rap from Ambinder and Sacha Zimmerman. He said he liked M*A*S*H when he was a kid. Obama was born in 1961. M*A*S*H in 1972. When Obama was watching it, it wasn't fogeyish at all. It was The Wire of its time. As for the comic book answer, McCain's understanding of Batman is pretty weird: "He does justice sometimes against insurmountable odds. And he doesn't make his good works known to a lot of people, so a lot of people think he's just a rich playboy." In other words, he's a quiet do-gooder who should probably remind people of his biography more, but he's too damn modest. In other words, he's John McCain's idea of himself. Meanwhile, Obama chooses Spiderman and Batman for what any comic nerd will recognize as the appropriate reasons, "The guys who have too many powers, like Superman, that always made me think they weren't really earning their superhero status. It's a little too easy. Whereas Spider-Man and Batman, they have some inner turmoil." 
