There are some interesting stories about Obama that I find outstanding simply because they resonate with me and they are not about his politics. There was this one from last Summer, when he watched his daughter’s soccer game.
Been there. Done that. I’ve sat in chairs just like that for soccer gaes. I love the part where Michelle makes him put his Blackberry away.
But then I read this online a few days ago.
Out of all the things one could talk with President-Elect Obama, someone apparently brought up this: “All your base are belong to us.” That’s right, the funny English phrase from Zero Wing turned internet meme. In a one-of-us-one-of-us thread over at Scifi site Tor.com in which Obama’s geekatude is being discussed, one commenter recounted a story from a friend who claims to have interned for the Obama presidential campaign:
The job involves getting him something to eat, maybe playing a little basketball with him, and basically chatting and getting whatever he needs between important things. During the conversation, apparently Zero Wing came up.
You know, the Sega Genesis video game. I don’t know how.
And apparently, my friend made the off-hand comment of “All your base are belong to us”.
And Obama leaned forward in his chair, quirked his eyebrow a bit, and responded “What you say?”Granted, this nugget comes from a random Tor commenter’s friend, so it’s tough to verify — we’re going to call this a rumor, a delicious rumor. Quick! Somebody find John McCain and tell him about the “full extent of the jam.” He must know!
Great Caesar’s ghost! [Tor.com Thanks, Eric-Jon!]
Now, this would be pretty hard to believe. That the President-elect is enough of a fanboy to know the correct response to an oldtime Internet meme. But he is a very conected guy, with his Blackberry and all.
So, this could just be a unfounded rumor but there are several other things that make me believe that he might really have done something like this. There is this report from November in Newsweek:
On May 20, the night of the primaries in Oregon (a satisfying win in a liberal state) and Kentucky (another discouraging blowout in Appalachia; he had lost West Virginia the week before by 41 points), he stood off-stage at the Des Moines Historical Society Museum in Iowa. He had wanted to go back to the state of his first great triumph to give a speech unofficially kicking off the fall campaign, even though Clinton officially was still in the race. “That’s an interesting belt buckle,” he said to Michelle, mischievously. She feigned offense and said, “I am interesting, next to you. Surprise, surprise, a blue suit, a white shirt and a tie.” Obama grinned and bent down until he was almost at eye level with her waist. He jabbed a playful finger toward her belt buckle, and let loose his inner nerd. “The lithium crystals! Beam me up, Scotty!” Obama squeaked, laughing at his own lame joke as Michelle rolled her eyes.
Most observers believe the reporter was not a fan of Star Trek and misheard ‘dilithium crystals’, Anyone quoting Star Trek in a conversation would know the correct form. And then there is this, from Leonard Nimoy:
Yep, the President-elect of the US greeted Spock with a Vulcan handgesture, like I am sure millions of other fanboys have done. It obviously brought a smile to Nimoy’s face. So he knows his Star Trek.
And he knows his Marvel also, since Spiderman and Conan the Barbarian are two of his favorite comics that he collects. He has read all of the Harry Potter books and appears to enjoy conversing with people about them (if I was at a fundraiser for a political candidate, I would not expect the conversation to include Harry.)
The final proof of the type of geek Barack is comes from this photo by Peter Yang in Rolling Stone:
I knew he had a Mac but look what sticker he put on it. Very cute.
We will have a President who is very smart and capable. But we will also have a President who has a outlook on life that matches my own geeky one. It makes me smile. I wonder if he watched the new Battlestar Galactica episode tonight?
Technorati Tags: Entertainment, Politics, Science
