Jun 25, 2008 06:30 AM
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Tue Feb 9
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Apparently, this year's US Elections are going to depend on whether you're a Gene Rodenberry or Ron Moore fan. We've seen the New York Times declare that Senator John McCain is actually the political equivalent of Battlestar Galactica, but now it appears that Senator Barack Obama's very own sci-fi alter ego is self-assured half-Vulcan Mr. Spock. You may scoff, but the facts - such as they are - don't lie. Under the jump, you can see the penetrating analysis that resulted in this discovery for yourself.
Don't think that it's any blogger-come-lately behind this comparison; it's actually the Director of Liberal Arts at The Juilliard School, Mitchell Aboulafia, (who was possibly the first person to draw the McCain/Saul Tigh comparison) who's putting forward the very logical argument for why we should all be looking for Barack's pointed ears:
Consider Spock and Obama: cool, logical, trustworthy, a great deal of presence of mind, etc. Further, Leonard Nimoy, the actor who plays Spock, is Jewish. Obama went to Harvard Law and taught at the University of Chicago Law School, which makes him an honorary Jew. (Being Jewish, I can say this.) And what have we heard about Obama’s blood pressure, 90/60; not that of an ordinary mortal, just like Spock.
Admit it: You're convinced already, aren't you? But wait - It gets better:
Star Trek was a collective experience mediated by a visual medium. It also expressed utopian ideals at a time when young people felt impotent about changing the course of a war and the world. (Star Trek began before the full impact of demonstrations against the war became apparent.) Obama and his people have harnessed the Internet to allow people to feel that they are not mere bystanders but full participants. They have a provided a sense of “ownership” (although I am not crazy about the term). Most importantly, and here the analogy begins to break down, Obama and his team are providing not only a fantasy utopian moment, but the possibility of actually changing things. Live Long and Prosper.
As if that's not enough, he invites you to look at their physical similarities:
Before you complain of political bias on this here blog, however, it's not all bad for Republicans looking for a reason to support their guy; Wanted creator and Marvel Comics' Civil War writer Mark Millar has come out for McCain:
I know, I know. I'm comics biggest liberal, but like Ultimate Cap I like integrity and McCain just has it in spades. I read a hatchet job in yesterday's Observer by Paul Harris and try as he might I still love the guy. for the first time in living memory, America has a choice between two excellent candidates. Whoever wins, America is going to be alright.
Such a decision from "comics' biggest liberal" seems... illogical. Perhaps Mr. Barock should pay Mark a visit soon.
[Obama, Spock and the New Star Trek Nation]
Send an email to Graeme McMillan, the author of this post, at graeme@io9.com.
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